The Seven Deadly Sins
by ShortyBoss
Summary: Mumbo robs a bank, and the Titans go to stop him. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Unfortunately, things don't always unfold the way you would expect, especially when Mumbo casts a spell that he's never cast before... Complete. Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1: Twisted Reflections

Hey guys! I'm back!

First of all, thanks to everyone who has read Titans Alone and the rest of my season six stories. Thank you very much. I hope you guys had as much fun reading them as I did writing them.

Now, here's something I promised when I finished writing Titans Reunited. That's right, a sequel! This story is set, I don't know, about three or four months after TR? Anyway, about the only real important thing that's happened between then and now is that Nightwing and Starfire are now married. YAY!

*Ahem* Anyhoo, this story focuses more on Raven and her past, but I'm also going to delve a little into the other Titans lives. This story might also be a bit darker than the rest of my season six stories. I'd better shut up now, or I'll spoil the big surprises.

**Disclaimer:** I do not, in any way, shape or form, own the Teen Titans. They, and everything that comes with them, ultimately belongs to DC Comics. I am not making any profit in any way by using their properties in this fashion.

Now, with that out of the way, let's get started, shall we?

* * *

**Teen Titans: The Seven Deadly Sins**

**Chapter One: Twisted Reflections**

There was a gaping hole in the wall of the Bank of Perez. This hole had not been created by an explosion, but by magic; specifically, the magic powers of Mumbo Jumbo. Mumbo was a stage magician who had stumbled upon a real magic hat and wand, giving him magical powers... at the cost of his sanity. He had since reinvented himself as a master (horrible) thief, and was an enemy of the Titans West... who had just shown up to take him back to prison.

"Mumbo," said Nightwing, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "I was wondering where you'd disappeared to."

Mumbo gasped, a comical expression of shock and dismay passing across his blue face. He pulled off his hat and shoved the bag of cash into it, and rummaged around for a few seconds, eventually pulling out a gun. He aimed the gun at the Titans, and Raven created a shield of dark matter to protect her friends. Mumbo pulled the trigger, and the gun fired... and a small rod slid out, and a flag unfurled. The flag had a cartoon explosion drawn on it, and the word "BANG!" written across it. The Titans all sighed in relief, and Raven lowered her shield.

"Whew," said Changeling, pretending to wipe sweat of his brow, "For a second there, I was actually _worried_."

Mumbo growled, and whacked the gun against his thigh. "Why doesn't this thing ever work properly?" he asked no-one in particular. He aimed the gun again, the flag still exposed, and fired again. This time, the flag was fired out like a spear, striking Cyborg's metal shoulder.

"Ow," moaned the half-mechanical man. "That hurt."

Raven looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" asked Cyborg. "I got built-in pain sensors, okay?"

Starfire fired a starbolt, knocking the flag gun out of Mumbo's hand.

"The Joker called," said Nightwing. "He wants his flag gun back." The masked hero threw one of his discs at the gun, now resting on the floor. The disc exploded on impact, destroying the gun. "I told him it was confiscated."

Mumbo muttered something under his breath, and rummaged around inside his hat again. This time, he pulled out a deck of cards with razor sharp edges, and started hurling them at Nightwing. Nightwing pulled out his collapsible bo staff, and started spinning it, blocking the cards that came flying towards him. Starfire used her starbolts to vaporise the few that he missed. Mumbo pulled out a bouquet of flowers, with a rather obvious lit fuse sticking out of it, looked at it, shrugged, and tossed that at the Titans. Cyborg fired his sonic cannon at the poorly-disguised bomb, blowing it up into a shower of confetti. Mumbo angrily jammed his hat on his head and pulled out his wand, waving it theatrically.

"Mumbo Jumbo!" he shouted. "Abracadabra! Alakazam! Hocus Pocus! Whatever!"

A white light emanated from the tip of the wand, lancing out and passing harmlessly through the five Titans. The light retreated, and five blobs appeared between Mumbo and the Titans. The blobs expanded, growing arms, legs, and faces; familiar faces.

Starfire gasped, her hand covering her mouth.

"Wh-wha...?" Changeling stuttered in confusion.

Five people stood between Mumbo and the Titans. The first man was dressed in a leather jacket and pants, with a bullet-proof vest visible under the jacket, a utility belt not unlike the one Nightwing wore, and wore a red hood that completely obscured his face. A woman floated in the air just behind him, her black hair contrasting with the blood red Tamaranean royalty outfit she wore, her eyes glowing purple and her hands surrounded by purple energy. The middle figure could only be called a man because it was based on a masculine model: a robot with red eyes and a slit for a mouth, built almost exactly like Cyborg, only slightly bulkier, and now without the flashy red circuitry. Next to him was a woman, wearing a red sleeved leotard, red boots and a red hooded cloak, with four red eyes glowing ominously under the hood. The man kneeling on the ground in front of them had obvious claws on his hands and exposed feet. His uniform was shredded around the lower parts of the sleeves and pants, exposing green skin. He gave the Titans a feral grin, showing razor sharp fangs. They were Red Hood, Blackfire, Gadget, Rage and Beast. They were—

"The Teen Tyrants," gasped Nightwing.

"But that is impossible," said Starfire, slipping into her old speech habits from shock. "They are from another universe, and Rage is—"

"Tyrants, attack!" yelled Red Hood, pulling out two bird-a-rangs and combining them into a sword.

"No time to talk!" said Nightwing. "Titans, GO!"

As the two teams clashed, Mumbo looked at his wand in amazement. "It's never done that before," he said to the reader, his insanity allowing him to break the fourth wall. "Oh well." He shrugged and waved his wand at his hat. "Time for me to disappear." He waved at the reader, and then grabbed the brim of his top hat and pulled it outwards, expanding the hat. He pulled the large hat over himself, and once the brim of the hat touched the ground, the top hat shrank back to its normal size, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Red Hood slashed his sword at Nightwing, and Nightwing tried to block the blow with his staff. The sword smashed into the staff, sending shockwaves down both combatants' arms. Nightwing tried to twist his staff around to hit Red Hood with it, but the criminal squirmed out of the way. Red Hood pushed against the staff with his sword, causing the masked hero to stagger back a step. Red Hood swung at Nightwing again, this time knocking the staff out of his hands. Red Hood attacked again, his sword swinging in an overhead chop. Nightwing dodged the blow, and kicked Red Hood's hands, and Red Hood instinctively dropped his sword. The criminal's hand flew to his belt, and he pulled out a knife, lunging at Nightwing. Nightwing pulled out a bird-a-rang, and blocked the blow.

"New outfit, I see," Nightwing said. "It suits you."

Red Hood just snarled, and attacked again. Nightwing leant to the side, and a stab that would have punctured his heart instead gouged his right shoulder. Nightwing punched Red Hood in the temple, and the criminal staggered past.

Nightwing glanced at the cut on his shoulder. It wasn't serious, and he was pretty sure the bone was fine; it didn't hurt yet, but it would when the adrenalin wore off.

Nightwing pulled out a second bird-a-rang, and returned the one he was already holding to his belt, replacing it with another one. He connected the two bird-a-rangs, and hidden mechanisms caused a straight-edged blade to shoot out, creating a sword not unlike the one Red Hood used.

Red Hood tossed the knife he was holding at Nightwing, and dove back to grab his sword. Nightwing dodged the knife, and charged at Red Hood. Red Hood picked up his sword, rolling onto his back. He held the sword horizontally, blocking Nightwing's blow. Red Hood lashed out with his foot, tripping Nightwing. Red Hood, from his position on the floor, swung at Nightwing. Nightwing blocked, and rolled sideways to get away from Red Hood. Red Hood rolled sideways after Nightwing and lashed out again. Nightwing blocked the blow, and tried to sit up, struggling against Red Hood. Red Hood punched Nightwing in the throat, and the hero fell back, choking. Red Hood scrambled to his feet, and tried to slice Nightwing in half. Nightwing rolled to the side, and then rolled back, smashing Red Hood's sword hand with his elbow. Red Hood yelped in pain, dropping the sword and backing off. Nightwing stood up, picking up Red Hood's sword. He flourished the two swords, and started to walk towards Red Hood menacingly. Red Hood looked around, and spotted Nightwing's bo staff. Red Hood grabbed the staff and swung it at Nightwing. Nightwing caught the oncoming blow between his two swords, and used the swords like a pair of scissors, slicing the staff in two. Red Hood spun the broken staff around, and smashed the blunt end into Nightwing's head, stunning the hero. Nightwing staggered back, and Red Hood tossed the broken staff at Nightwing. Nightwing batted it aside with his sword, and Red Hood picked up the other half of the staff and threw that at Nightwing as well. Nightwing dodged the broken staff, and threw Red Hood's sword like a javelin. The sword flew straight and true, puncturing Red Hood's chest. The criminal collapsed to his knees, clutching the sword to his chest, trying to stop the blood flowing out. Nightwing walked up, and pulled the blade out, causing blood to come gushing out of the wound. Nightwing then swung the sword in a clean arc, decapitating Red Hood. The headless body collapsed, and Red Hood's head rolled a few times, leaving a small trail of blood. Nightwing dropped the criminal's bloody sword, and wasn't surprised to see Red Hood's corpse glow white for a few seconds. The light became a ball, and floated back into Nightwing.

* * *

Blackfire flew at Starfire and launched a punch, her fist surrounded by purple starbolt energy. Starfire blocked the blow with her own starbolt-surrounded fist. The two Tamaraneans started soaring higher and higher, raining blows on one another. Blackfire grabbed Starfire's hands, and the two grappled in midair, until Starfire brought her legs up and kicked into Blackfire's midsection. Blackfire tumbled for a second, before recovering and launching a volley of starbolts at Starfire. Starfire countered with her own volley, with starbolts hitting starbolts and Tamaraneans alike. Starfire fired a starbolt at Blackfire's arm, striking her just below the wrist. Blackfire drew her hand in and gasped in pain, and Starfire closed the distance and slammed her starbolt-surrounded fist into Blackfire's nose. The Tamaranean's head snapped back, blood pouring from her broken nose. Blackfire slipped the cartilage back into place, and wiped the blood on her sleeve, the two different shades of red almost indistinguishable from each other. Blackfire yelled in rage, and punched Starfire in the cheek, bruising her. She followed up with a second blow to Starfire's chest, and a third blow to the stomach. Blackfire prepared to punch Starfire a fourth time, but Starfire fired her eyebeams at Blackfire, driving her back. When Blackfire recovered, she saw Starfire soaring upwards, and Blackfire followed her, disappearing into the clouds. Blackfire lost sight of the Tamaranean princess, and looked around for her. Green starbolts hit Blackfire from nowhere, and she turned and fired a volley of her own purple blasts. Blackfire missed, and Starfire struck again and again, hidden by the clouds. Blackfire shrieked in rage, and managed to fire of a sphere of starbolt energy in all directions, clearing the clouds away and striking Starfire. Blackfire spotted the stunned Tamaranean princess, and flew up behind her, grabbing her arms by the wrists and yanking them behind her back. Blackfire's eyes glowed bright purple as she prepared to fire her eyebeams at Starfire's neck in an attempt to decapitate her. Starfire jerked her head back, smashing Blackfire on her already broken nose and stunning her. Starfire grabbed Blackfire around her waist, and flew towards the ground as fast as she could. When she was about a hundred metres above the ground, Starfire threw Blackfire down, and the Tamaranean impacted hard, leaving a small crater. Starfire landed behind Blackfire as she struggled to get up. Starfire wrapped one arm around Blackfire's shoulders, and grabbed Blackfire's forehead in the other, and twisted, snapping Blackfire's neck, killing her instantly. Blackfire's body slumped to the ground, before it was enveloped in white light and faded into Starfire.

* * *

Panels opened up on Gadget's shoulders, and missiles soared towards Cyborg. Cyborg activated his sonic cannon and started shooting down the missiles. One missile got through his defences, striking his chest-plate and sending him flying. Cyborg sprang to his feet as Gadget charged at him. Cyborg punched Gadget in the face, the sound of the blow echoing through the streets. The attack didn't seem to affect Gadget, and the robot punched Cyborg in the gut, followed by a blow to the chest. Cyborg staggered back, and Gadget raised its arm, levelling its sonic cannon at Cyborg's head. Cyborg dived to his right, and the red beam missed him. Gadget fired a constant stream of sound energy, tracking Cyborg as he ran. Cyborg shot at Gadget with his own sonic cannon, but the robot activated the sonic cannon in its other arm and blasted Cyborg's attack, all while still tracking Cyborg with its other cannon. Cyborg fiddled with a few settings on his right arm, and fired his sonic cannon again. This time, instead of a concentrated beam, he fired a cone of blue sonic energy that extended a few feet out, and used it as a shield to block Gadget's attack. Cyborg started forcing his way closer to Gadget, as the robot continued to fire its sonic cannon. Cyborg deactivated his improvised shield and jumped to his left, firing the sonic cannon built into his left arm. The beam struck Gadget in the face, causing the robot to emit an electronic groan of pain. Cyborg fired a missile from his shoulder, but Gadget shot it down. While Gadget shot down the missile, Cyborg closed in as Gadget took aim at Cyborg. There was an audible whine as Gadget charged the sonic cannon in its right arm. Cyborg activated the sonic cannon on his right arm, and jammed it down the barrel of his opponent's cannon. Cyborg smirked, as the light over Gadget's face made it seem like Gadget was looking on in shock. Cyborg fired his sonic cannon, causing a small explosion, knocking the combatants apart. Gadget was the first to recover, holding its right arm limply by its side. Cyborg stood up as he assessed the damage he'd done to himself and his opponent. The lower part of his right arm was mangled, and ended at a stump at the wrist. Wires poked out of holes in the metal. Cyborg glanced at his opponent, seeing that the robot was in the same situation as he was. Gadget raised his left arm, revealing the still intact sonic cannon. It fired, and Cyborg fired his own sonic cannon at the blast, deflecting the robot's attack. Gadget opened its shoulder-mounted missile launchers, and Cyborg noticed that the robot had only one missile left in both launchers. Gadget fired the two missiles, and Cyborg managed to shoot them down. Gadget charged while Cyborg was distracted, punching Cyborg in the head. Cyborg staggered back and tripped, falling onto his back. As Gadget approached, Cyborg lifted his leg, so that the sole of his mechanical foot pointed directly at Gadget. Cyborg fired a blue beam of sonic energy at Gadget from his foot. The blast disoriented the robot, and Cyborg leapt up, activating the cannon in his left arm. He swung his arm in a punch at Gadget's head, firing the cannon as he struck its metallic head. The sonic blast ripped a hole through Gadget's brain, exposing the complex circuitry underneath. Gadget stood there for a few seconds, before falling to its knees, and then onto its face as its glowing red eyes faded out. The robot glowed for a second before the light pulled itself back into Cyborg.

* * *

Beast morphed an elephant and charged at Changeling. Changeling dropped down and morphed into a mouse, scampering towards the elephant. The elephant stumbled as the elephant's instincts warred against Beast's human commands. Changeling used the opportunity to get under the elephant and changed forms again, becoming a stegosaurus in an attempt to gore the elephant's undersides. Beast morphed into a spider and started crawling down Changeling's back between the plates. Changeling rolled over, switching to a hippopotamus to crush Beast. Beast survived the attack by morphing into a cockroach. Changeling changed forms, becoming a lion, jumping up and moving back as Beast transformed into a cheetah. Beast dashed towards Changeling, leaping into the air and morphing into a rhinoceros. Changeling reverted to human form and dived forward, avoiding the attack. Beast morphed into an ankylosaurus, and swung his club-like tail at Changeling. Changeling morphed into an ant to avoid the attack, and then became a gorilla and shoved Beast, flipping him onto his back. Changeling then brought his fists down, but Beast morphed into a cat and leapt out of the way, before morphing into a moose and charging at him. Changeling also took on the form of a moose, and met Beast's charge head on, their antlers locking together. The two were evenly matched, so Changeling morphed into an eagle and flew between Beast's antlers, scratching his face as he flew past. Beast returned to human form and clutched at his face. The wounds healed as he changed form, and Beast looked around wildly. He felt something wrap around his neck, and he grabbed at the green snake. There was a sharp pain in the back of his neck as Changeling bit down. Beast yelled in pain, and pulled at the snake, yanking it off and throwing it away from him. Changeling, slowly and deliberately, morphed from king cobra back to human form, and Beast's eyes went wide as he realised what happened.

"I just pumped about five hundred milligrams of neurotoxins into your bloodstream," said Changeling. "Now let's see you fight."

Beast roared, and his muscles started bulging. Fur sprouted all over his body, and his teeth and fangs became even sharper. His face stretched and flattened, and his eyes changed dramatically, the pupil vanishing completely.

"Oh, crap," moaned Changeling as he recognized the creature. It was the Beast. Changeling had gained the ability to change into it after he'd been splashed with some green chemicals in a fight with Adonis. He'd only willingly used the Beast in combat once, and that was to defend Raven from Trigon's demon horde.

The Beast roared and leapt at Changeling. Changeling dropped down and morphed into a lizard. Once the Beast had passed overhead, Changeling morphed into a bear and slashed at the Beast. The Beast caught Changeling's paw in one hand, and smacked him in the face with the other. The Beast attacked Changeling again and again, slashing and beating him. Changeling changed forms, becoming a velociraptor, sprinting away from the Beast. The Beast caught up to him and slashed at him again, so Changeling morphed into an ankylosaurus again, and let the Beast's blows rain upon his bony body armour. The Beast was starting to slow down as the venom started to take effect, acting faster as all the fighting caused Beast's heart to beat faster. Changeling morphed into a triceratops and struck the Beast with his horns, gouging out chunks of the Beast's flesh. The Beast charged again, but this time it staggered, clutching its head as a dizzy spell struck. The Beast moaned as the dizziness grew worse, and it struggled to move. Beast returned to his human form, and staggered another few steps, groaning. The effects of the venom grew worse as Beast's kidneys failed and the venom ate away at his heart. Beast tried to move, but stumbled forward, tripping over his numb feet and landing on the floor. It wasn't long until he stopped moving, and soon after, his breathing stopped. The corpse flashed white, and the light faded, making its way back into Changeling.

* * *

Rage fired a volley of crimson red energy blasts at Raven. Raven shielded her hands and blocked the attacks.

"You're looking pretty good for a dead person," said Raven.

Rage growled, and used her powers to hurl a car at Raven. Raven fired her black energy in a scythe-like shape, slicing the car in half. The two broken halves passed her on either side, and Raven lifted them and hurled them back at Rage. Rage lifted herself up and over the improvised projectiles, and Raven flew towards Rage. Raven decided to take a page out of Starfire's book, and punched Rage with a fist surrounded by black energy. The blow struck Rage in the chin, knocking the sorceress back. As her opponent fell, Raven used the brief respite to massage her sore knuckles.

_And _that_ is why I'm normally a distance fighter_, thought Raven.

Rage flew towards Raven, firing blasts of red energy. Raven dodged the attacks, and fired her own attack, chanting her mantra as she did so.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Rage batted the blow away with a shielded hand, and fired another beam at Raven. Raven created a shield in front of herself, blocking the blow. Rage intensified her beam, her four glowing eyes narrowing as she concentrated.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," Raven chanted again, focusing. Maintaining the shield, she lifted one hand, raising a chunk of debris with her powers and hurling it at Rage. Rage shifted the beam of red energy from Raven's shield to the rock, and that was when Raven struck, blasting Rage in the chest with her powers. Before Rage could recover, Raven created a huge black raven with her powers, and the bird-shaped energy construct clawed at Rage, knocking her back. Raven lifted a hand, surrounding Rage in black energy and slamming her into a wall. Raven held her there as the black energy started shrinking, turning into an ever-tightening band around Rage's neck. Rage grabbed the black energy with one hand and tried to pull it off, and fired a red blast at Raven with the other. The blast struck Raven, but she ignored the pain, focused completely on her task. Rage's four eyes went wide as she struggled to breathe, and she started pulling against the black band of energy even harder, but her attempts to escape were pointless. All she did was waste the air in her lungs, and with no air being allowed into her lungs, her arm went limp as she slipped into unconsciousness. Raven clenched her hand into a fist, crushing Rage's windpipe. The illusory copy of her extra-universal counterpart collapsed, and the body glowed before fading, the light flowing into Raven.

* * *

"So what the hell was up with that?" asked Nightwing, clutching his injured shoulder.

"They looked like our counterparts from the Teen Tyrants dimension," said Starfire.

"Yeah, but that fight was more like when Trigon made us fight our evil clones," said Cyborg as he examined the ruins of his right forearm.

"I guess Nightwing and I missed that part," said Raven dryly.

"Yeah," said Changeling. "But there's something I don't get."

"What is it?" asked Nightwing.

"Last time, we couldn't defeat our clones," said Changeling. "We had to fight each other's evil sides."

Starfire nodded. "But this time, we defeated our clones without each other's help."

"You're right," said Cyborg. "How come we were able to beat ourselves this time?"

"We weren't fighting ourselves this time," said Raven. "We were fighting ourselves from another universe."

"But they had the same powers as us," said Changeling. "We should have fought ourselves to a standstill, at least."

"Things have changed since then, though," said Nightwing. "We've grown older, and we've gotten more experienced; we've even had to fight in a war. And we were all willing to use lethal force this time."

The other Titans looked down in shame, feeling guilty for having killed, even if they only killed illusions of their dark sides.

"If it we were so willing to kill our dark sides, how does that make us any different from them?" asked Starfire, looking worried.

"They weren't actually alive," said Raven. "They were just illusions."

"That, or they all had rocks for brains," said Changeling.

Nightwing had to smile at Changeling's weak attempt to change the mood. "Come on," he said. "Let's go home."

* * *

Someone had been watching the scene unfold from the shadows. He'd watched as Mumbo had used his wand, and how, instead of whatever he'd been planning, it had created illusions of the Titans dark sides, and he'd watched carefully as the Titans murdered their counterparts. The young man, who face was hidden by his hood, turned and walked away. He carried himself angrily, his fists balled in his pockets. He looked like he was about to haul off and punch somebody. He was soon joined by another, taller young man. His friend wore a red jacket that was open at the front, exposing the white shirt he wore underneath.

"So," he asked. "How did it go, Jared?"

"I managed to make the crazy magicians wand make those clones of the Titans," said Jared. "They managed to defeat their own clones, too."

"That's weird," said his friend. "Didn't they have to swap opponents last time?"

"That's what I thought," said Jared. "But they beat their dark sides this time. And they killed their clones, too."

His friend stopped dead. "But... they're _superheroes_. Superheroes don't kill people."

Jared turned to face him. "Well, these ones do," he snapped. "This could be trickier than I thought."

"Why don't we start messing with their heads, try to make 'em hate each other," suggested his friend.

Jared shook his head. "Wouldn't work; they've known each other for too long for that to work."

"In that case... Phobia?"

Jared nodded. "Phobia. But be careful around her, Jesse."

"Don't worry," said Jesse, his eyes flashing a sickly shade of green. "I think I can make her see things my way."

Beneath his hood, Jared's eyes flashed red. "You'd better. We need them out of the way so we can grab Pride."

"Geez, lighten up, will ya?" said Jesse. "I got this."

Jared just started walking away, and Jesse started to go his own way as well. He had to see someone about some nightmares...

* * *

Yeah, the Titans just killed their evil clones. Kinda scary, huh? But then again, they have been willing to kill before, as long as the enemy isn't really alive, as the junked Sladebots will attest. And I noticed as I was writing this, all the killing blows in this chapter involved the head and neck: decapitation, broken necks, a head shot, bitten in the neck, and choking.

For the uninitiated, the Teen Tyrants first appeared in Season Six, in Wrong Place, Wrong Time. I blame Tari Silmarwen for their appearance here: she updated Sides of the Coin while I was writing this, so I ended up rewriting this so I could have my own Teen Tyrants appear. But I digress. For those of you wondering what exactly was going on with the Tyrants, I suggest you read Wrong Place, Wrong Time. /shameless self promotion... I mean, wait, what?

Those with some knowledge of the comics might know who those two guys at the end of the chapter are. As for those who don't, well, let's see some guessing going on in those reviews, huh? Later, folks.

-ShortyBoss.


	2. Chapter 2: Deepest Fears

Egad! Another update already!

Well, since it's currently school holidays, I've got time on my hands to actually write these things now. The evil supervillains known only as "School", "Study" and "Homework" have been attacking me a lot lately. I've beaten them back for now, but I have a feeling they won't stay down for long...

Anyway, enough about me, I'm sure you want to read today's brand spankin' new chapter, so let's get started!

Disclaimer: It's on the first chapter. I'm not repeating myself.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Deepest Fears**

Nightwing frowned as he again tried to contact the Flash again. The Flash had left a few days ago on League business, and Jinx and Bumblebee were looking after Central-Keystone City while he was away. Nightwing had just finished talking to the girls, and they said they hadn't heard from him since he left. That wasn't entirely surprising, but Nightwing couldn't even pick up the tracking signal from his Titans Communicator. He hoped that the Flash was all right; after all, even the Fastest Man Alive could be taken by surprise...

He heard the door open behind him, and spotted his wife's reflection on the computer screen. Kori hugged him from behind, draping her arms over his shoulders. Nightwing winced as she rested her arm on the gash he'd received earlier.

"Oh! Sorry," said Kori, shifting her arm.

"It's all right," he said, giving her a quick kiss. "So what brings you here?"

"Just checking up on you," she said. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to contact Wally," Nightwing said. "I can't pick up his signal."

"Don't worry," said Kori. "He can take care of himself."

"Yeah, I know," said Nightwing. He yawned. "If I can't pick up his signal by tomorrow, I'll call the League; see what they can tell me."

The door opened again, and Cyborg walked in. "You two about ready to call it a night?" he said.

Nightwing turned off the computer. "Yeah," he said. "We'll have to track Mumbo down tomorrow."

"We can worry about that tomorrow," Kori said. "We need to get some sleep."

"She's right, y'know," said Cyborg, activating the Tower's defence systems. "Don't stay up _too_ late, you two."

"Ha, ha," said Nightwing. "Very funny, Tin Man."

* * *

Raven hovered cross-legged in the centre of her room.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she chanted. She usually meditated before she went to bed; it helped settle her down after a long day fighting crime... or an even longer day putting up with Changeling.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

Changeling wasn't always that bad, though; he'd been pretty nice to her when it was her birthday last week.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

The thought of her birthday did make her feel slightly uneasy. The memories of her sixteenth birthday rose up, taunting her with the images of the glowing red tattoos that Slade had burnt onto her skin, courtesy of her father.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

That night had been one of the worst in her life, and her nights steadily grew worse as the day of the prophecy approached...

_The gem was born of evil's fire,_

_The gem shall be his portal._

_He comes to claim, he comes to sire,_

_The end of all things mortal._

"No," whispered Raven, causing the inner voice of her fear to fall silent. "I banished him, and he's not coming back. I won't let him return..."

Raven sighed. There was no point trying to meditate anymore. She might as well go to sleep...

She frowned. Something seemed... wrong. It was like a sense of impending doom was settling over the Tower. But there hadn't been any major threats since the Titans had returned from the Tamaranean War, as they called it. Raven closed her eyes, and reached out with her empathic powers. From what she could tell, the others were asleep, so why would she... oh. She could sense fear rolling off the other Titans in waves, like they were having nightmares. She briefly toyed with the idea of using her empathic abilities to send her friends feelings of peace, but that idea didn't last long. It would be wrong for her to manipulate her friends' emotions like that. But something still seemed out of place. Why would all four of them have nightmares at the same time?

That was when she sensed something else: a foreign presence, stretching into their minds, forcing them to live through their greatest fears. Raven could almost see it, a pulsating, sickly yellow-green mist, stretching out of the minds of the Titans and away towards Jump City. As Raven tried to find the source, one of the bands of mists faded away. One of the Titans must have woken up from their nightmare...

* * *

_You run towards your opponent, but he keeps fleeing, never getting any closer or any further away. You can tell he's toying with you, just like he always does. He leaps into the air, landing easily on the dirt below before he continues running. You leap down after him, executing a three-point landing when you hit the dirt. You continue to chase him, before he leaps again, this time landing near four pillars of rock. You jump after him again, rolling as you land. You can't see any sign of him, and you start looking for—_

"_Dangerous behaviour, Robin," whispers a voice. A man steps out from behind one of the rock pillars. He's wearing a black bodysuit, with gunmetal grey armour plates. His face is obscured by a face-plate. The face-plate is divided into two halves. The right half is a featureless black mask, the other is orange, with an eyehole in it. Both halves have two vertical slits near the mouth._

"_You must be very eager to see me," says Slade as he walks towards you. "I'm flattered."_

"_I'm not here to see you," you growl. "I'm here to stop you!"_

_You and your nemesis start circling around each other, passing between the stone pillars._

"_But how can you stop me, when you don't even know what I'm planning?" taunts Slade._

"_Like _this_!"_

_You charge at Slade, launching a kick. Slade ducks under your attack, and you follow through with a punch, striking one of the stone pillars. You charge at him, leaping towards him, but he ducks under your attack, and you turn to face him again. He kicks at you, so you backflip out of the way. He walks menacingly towards you, and you back off. He fires off one, two, three punches, and you dodge the blows, leaping into the air. You land and charge at Slade, throwing a punch. Slade, however, catches the blow, much to your surprise. He throws you into the air, but the acrobatic skills from your childhood allow you to flip through the air and push off one of the stone pillars, flying towards Slade fist first. Slade steps aside, and your blow strikes the pillar behind him. You jump up and kick at him again, but he dodges, and your blow strikes another pillar. You charge at him at another punch, and he dodges again, causing you to strike a pillar. You punch at him again, and his one visible eye seems to glow orange as he dodges, and you hit the pillar again. You jump into another kick, but he dodges like always. You chase after him and punch at him again, but he keeps dodging. This time, Slade kicks you, and you block the blow with your forearms. The force of the attack still knocks you back, and Slade charges towards you, launching a punch. You backflip out of the way, and lash out, but Slade blocks your blows. He then punches you in the face, knocking you backwards. You get back to your feet, and reach towards your belt to pull out a pair of bird-a-rangs—_

—_And you stop. Something seems wrong, but you have no idea what. And why does this seem vaguely familiar to you?_

_Slade uses your hesitation to his advantage, charging towards you. You leap to the side, rolling as Slade unloads a punch into the pillar that was behind you. You throw an explosive disc at Slade, and Slade prepares to dodge the disc when you throw a bird-a-rang at the disc, causing it to explode, kicking up clouds of dust. You lose sight of Slade in the dust, but you notice that the four pillars are still standing._

"_Excellent work, Robin," says Slade, his voice seeming to come from everywhere at once. "We appear to be equally ruthless. Not surprising; you and I are so very much alike."_

_You reach down to your belt, pulling out a pair of collapsible eskrima sticks. "I don't care how similar we may seem to be—we are _not_ the same!"_

_You spin around and swing your sticks at Slade, but he blocks the attacks with his bare hands._

"_You're a criminal," you continue, starting to circle around him. "Everything you've done has caused people to suffer."_

"_You've hurt people as well," says Slade. "Remember how you betrayed your team with your Red X scheme?"_

"_That was a mistake," you say, tightening your grip on the two eskrima sticks. "A mistake that I will never make again!"_

"_And what about those days you spent as my apprentice?" continues Slade. "You hurt your friends again that time, as well."_

"_You blackmailed me," you say. "I didn't have a choice!"_

"_No, you didn't," says Slade. He lashes out with his fists, knocking your eskrima sticks out of your hands. You stagger backwards, and he swings again, striking you in the chest. "You never had a choice, apprentice."_

_You groan as you get back to your feet. "You're wrong, Slade," you say. "I've always had a choice. I may have made some wrong choices, but I will never betray my friends again!"_

_As you speak, Slade moves into the centre of the pillars. "Even if the only way to defeat me means you have to destroy them?"_

_You look at the pillars closely, and realise each pillar has one of your friend's faces carved into it: Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy and... Starfire... _

_Calmly, you remove your belt. "No." You stare at Slade's one visible eye. "I'll never hurt my friends like that. Never again."_

_Slade yells, finally losing his cool, and he charges at you. He leaps into the air, fist drawn back. You step aside, allowing Slade to rush past you. He punches at you again, but this time, _you_ catch _his_ punch._

"_And one more thing. My name is Nightwing," you say, before punching Slade in the face with your free hand. Slade staggers back as his mask falls off, and he covers his unmasked face with his hands. He steps too far back, and falls off the rocky mesa you were standing on. You walk up to the edge, but you can't see what happened to Slade. But it doesn't matter to you. It's time to wake up._

* * *

Richard Grayson opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling for about a second. He sat up and shook his head, wiping droplets of sweat off his forehead. _That was weird_, he thought. _I haven't had a nightmare like that since..._

He shook his head. No point worrying about that now; it was over.

A small groan caught his attention. He glanced at the beautiful young woman who had been sleeping beside him. Kori had a slight frown on her face, and she moved her head a little. Richard's face softened. He'd seen her acting like this before; she must be having a nightmare.

"Hey, Kori," he whispered, shaking her. "Wake up."

Kori doesn't respond. Richard keeps shaking her, and he raises his voice a little.

"Kori? C'mon, wake up, already... Kori? Kori!"

Kori didn't wake up. Instead, a tortured moan escaped her lips, followed by fearful murmuring.

"No," she whispered. "No, please, no..."

Richard frowned. This couldn't be natural. Even when she was in the grip of a nightmare, he would have been able to wake her up by now. And she never talked in her sleep. Something had to be going really wrong. Richard stood up, and pulled out his Nightwing costume. He yanked on the costume with a bit more force than he'd intended, wincing a little as the fabric rubbed against the gash on his shoulder. He pulled his gloves on and slipped his mask on. The last thing he put on was his belt, after making sure it was fully stocked. He opened the door, and saw Raven running towards him.

"Raven!" he yelled. "What's going on?!"

"Someone is attacking us," she said. "Through our dreams."

"What?" Richard asked, confused.

"I can sense someone else's presence," Raven said. "They're causing everyone to have nightmares of their deepest fears."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Raven nodded. "I can sense their fear," said Raven. "It's really powerful."

"I guess that makes sense," said Richard. "I was having a nightmare, too. After I woke up, Kori looked like she was having one too, so I tried to wake her up. It didn't work."

"I think that the only way to wake up from these nightmare attacks is to either beat our fears or stop them at the source."

Richard nodded. "Any ideas where I should start looking?"

"Whoever is doing this is somewhere in East End," said Raven. "That's as close as I could pinpoint a location."

"I'll head over there now," said Richard.

"I'll go with you," said Raven, but Richard held up his hand.

"No," he said. "Somebody has to watch over these guys."

"But they won't wake up until we beat whoever's doing this—"

"Or until they conquer their fears," said Richard. "And I want you to help them with that."

Now Raven was the one who looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I want you to go into their dreams and help them," said Richard. "I know you don't like going into other peoples' minds, but you have to wake them up."

Raven was quiet for a second, but she nodded. "You owe me for this," she said.

"Hey, I was the one who gave you hope when you defeated Trigon," said Richard. "I think we're even if you do this."

"Just go and find whoever's doing this," growled Raven.

Richard nodded. "Right. Good luck."

* * *

"_C'mon, Adonis," you say, waving towards yourself in the time-honoured "bring it on" gesture. "You getting soft?"_

_Adonis growls. "Why you...!" He charges at you, swinging a punch. You duck, and Adonis's power-suit causes his punch to break a hole in the wall behind him. You morph into a monkey and jump up, climbing over Adonis's shoulder and leaping off. Adonis turns and charges at you, launching a series of punches. You morph into a hummingbird and dodge the blows, but Adonis gets lucky and hits you, knocking you out of the air. You demorph, and get onto your hands and knees as Adonis approaches._

"_Well, well," taunts Adonis. "Guess you're not so tough after a—huh?"_

_Adonis's teeth had started growing, and he soon noticed the fur growing over his body and the bulging in his muscles._

"_What's happening...to _me_?" says Adonis, his voice trailing off into a howl as he morphs into a Beast._

_You start to back away, until you feel the familiar sensation of morphing into another animal. But this wasn't your decision—you clutch at your head as pain travels across your body as the involuntary transformation into your own Beast begins._

_Adonis rips his way free of his power armour and charges at you. You grab Adonis's claws with your own, and start struggling against him. Adonis releases his hold on your hands and slashes you across the cheek, and you howl in pain. You retaliate by punching him hard enough to send him flying. Adonis leaps back at you, and you match him blow for blow, slash for slash. Adonis punches you in the jaw, and you respond by slashing him in the gut. Adonis tries to slash your face, but you dodge the blow and bite down on his arm, and Adonis screeches in pain. Adonis punches you with his free hand, and you relinquish your hold on his arm, licking the blood off your teeth. All your instincts are screaming at you to spit the blood out, but instead, you can't do anything as you swallow the blood. You charge at Adonis, slashing at him. Adonis dodges and punches you, and you stagger back. Adonis attacks again, hitting you in the shoulder, and you slash at him again, trying to aim for his arm, but instead tearing open his throat. Adonis collapses, holding a paw to his throat as blood oozes out, and you close in for the kill, trying to stop yourself from doing this—_

_A black wall of energy appears in front of you, and you run into it, rebounding and collapsing. As you get up, the wall dissipates, revealing Raven standing there._

"_Changeling, stop!" she yells. "This isn't you! You can control it!"_

_You want to say something, to tell her that you can't, but your body isn't listening to you. You bound towards Adonis, but Raven steps in front of you._

"_Stop, Changeling!" she yells. You tower over her, doing your best to try and move, but your body refuses to do what you command. "Please, Garfield," she whispers, reaching up and gently placing a hand on your cheek. "Don't do this."_

_You hear a soft moan, and you realise its coming from you. You lift a hand and place it over Raven's as you manage to regain control, muscles and bones warping as you become your normal self again._

"_Thanks, Rae," you whisper once you've finished demorphing._

_A small smile graced Raven's lips. "You're welcome," she says._

_You reach out and hug her, and, slightly to your surprise, instead of stiffening into a statue like she usually did, she responds, wrapping her arms around you. Also to your surprise is that she feels oddly weightless. You let go of her, and you take a good look at Raven, finally noticing that it's not the real Raven standing before her, but a black energy ghost-like copy._

"_What... is this...?" you say as you look around. "Some kind of... dream?"_

_Raven's soul-self nods. "A nightmare, actually."_

_You nod. "And it's not a normal nightmare, either. If it was, you probably wouldn't be here."_

"_You're right," she says. "Someone is giving the team nightmares of their deepest fears. Nightwing is off trying to find who's doing this."_

"_So... You already woke Nightwing up?"_

_Raven's projection shakes her head. "He conquered his fears alone and woke himself up. You were the first I woke up."_

"_Oh," you say, and you feel your face heat up a little. "Well... thanks," you say, rubbing the back of your neck. You sober up and look at Raven seriously. "What you did was pretty risky," you say. "I could have really hurt you."_

"_You wouldn't have hurt me," said Raven quietly, meeting his gaze. "You've never done anything to hurt me before; why would you start now?"_

_Raven manages to stun you silent as you gaze into her eyes, a rare occurrence. You cough in embarrassment._

"_Um... W-we should... we should wake up the other two," you say, turning around to try and hide your blush._

"_Y-yeah... right," says Raven. She took a deep breath. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"_

* * *

Nightwing tightened his grip on the handlebars of his motorcycle. If he drifted off now, then he'd crash and burn... and most likely be haunted by another nightmare. Growling in frustration, he yanked off his helmet and tossed it aside. The wind whipped through his hair, blowing dust into his face, but he didn't mind—it would help keep him awake long enough to find who was doing this...

* * *

_Your eyes are closed, and there is nothing but darkness. Yet you still see words floating in your vision._

Biological Components:

Removed

Repairs:

Complete

"_Awaken, friend," says a voice. The voice sounds familiar, but, at the same time, wrong. It sounds like it's being filtered through something mechanical. You open your eyes, and your vision comes online instantly. You sit up with a groan, and find that there are cables attached to your chest and shoulders._

"_I am glad you are still functional," says a familiar voice. You turn to see the source, and you recognise him._

"_Fixit?" you ask, your voice sounding weird. "Am I back at Tito's Junkyard? Why?"_

"_You were damaged in battle. I brought you here for repairs, but not everything could be salvaged." Fixit's voice sounded like it was tinged with regret._

"_Wh-what do you mean?" you ask, your voice rising. "What couldn't be salvaged?!"_

_The lights on Fixit's forehead glow red, and one of his robots wheeled in a mirror so you could get a look at the repairs Fixit had made._

"_Your biological components were too badly damaged to be salvaged, and my knowledge of medicine is limited at best," says Fixit, as you realise that the robot that you see in the mirror is you. "I was forced to use mechanical parts as replacements."_

"_No," you say, as the full implications sink in. "NO!"_

_You smash a metallic fist into the mirror, punching a hole through the metal backing. You'll never be able to feel anything again; never feel the breeze against his skin, the sunlight on his face, Karen's sweet kiss on your lips..._

_You sink to your knees, and bury your face in your hands, wishing you still had tear ducts so you could cry._

"_No," you moan. "This can't be happening. It can't be..."_

"_Vic...?"_

_You raise your head, looking at your best friend as he started to walk towards him, Raven floating not far behind him._

"_Go away," you say, turning away from them._

"_Vic, buddy, I'm not gonna leave you like this," says Changeling, putting a hand on your shoulder._

_You yank your shoulder back roughly. "Victor's dead, kid!" you yell. "I'm not alive anymore! I'm just a machine..."_

"_No, you're not," says Changeling. "You're not just a machine. You'll always have your memories." The green-skinned young man pauses. "And you'll always have your heart."_

"_Wha...?"_

"_Even though you shouldn't be capable of feeling emotions, you still can," says Raven. "That's a part of you that no machine could ever replace... just like no machine could ever replace you, Victor."_

_You feel like there's a lump where your throat used to be, even though it's all mechanical, now. "Thanks, guys," you say, wishing your mouth could move so you could smile. Then you noticed that parts of you were glowing._

"_What the hell...?" you say, as the light grows brighter. You raise your arm to shield your optic sensors, and when the light fades, things seem different. You look down at yourself, and see that the small bands of exposed skin on your arms are back. You raise a hand gingerly to your face, and feel cold metal against warm skin._

"_Wha...?"_

"_It's just a dream," says Raven. "Well, a nightmare, really, but you get the idea."_

_You sigh in relief, glad that it was over. "So wait, why are you two here? And why does Raven look like she's made out of that stuff her powers make?"_

"_These aren't normal nightmares," says Changeling. "Someone's attacking us through them, and Raven is trying to rescue us from our nightmares while Nightwing looks for the culprit."_

"_Oh," you say. You raise your arm and activate your sonic cannon with a satisfying whine. "Then what are we waiting here for?! Let's go rescue Star!"_

"_It's not that simple," said Raven. "Getting into your dreams was easy, but Starfire's mind works differently. It's going to be harder for me to get in."_

_You and Changeling look at each other, and you both nod. You sit down cross legged, and Changeling does the same._

"_What are you two doing?" Raven asks._

"_You said it'll be harder for you to get into Star's mind," you say. "We can meditate too."_

"_Yeah, you need all the help you can get, Rae," Changeling says._

"_Thanks," Raven says as a small smile reaches her lips. She sits down with you, and the three of you start chanting Raven's mantra._

"_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos... Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos... Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..."_

* * *

Nightwing leapt off his motorcycle and ran towards the building. It looked like a simple house, just like all the others in this end of town, but Nightwing knew differently. He wasn't sure how he knew, but his instincts told him that this house was hiding the one responsible for all this... and after years of training with the Bat, and even more time on the streets, Nightwing trusted his instincts.

Nightwing grabs an explosive disc and hurls it at the door. The explosion rips the door to shreds, sending chunks of wood flying. He raced inside, pulling out a pair of bird-a-rangs as he did so.

He ran through the open door, and, at the end of the hallway, he saw a woman. Her skin was pale, and she was dressed in sickly green robes, her eyes closed. She opened her eyes and turned to look at Nightwing, and Nightwing saw that her eyes glowed a strange yellow-green colour.

"Nightwing," she said, her voice echoing for some strange reason. "So nice of you to join us."

Nightwing's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "Phobia," he growled. He'd seen Phobia before. She'd been a member of the Brotherhood of Evil, but he'd only seen her with the whole Brotherhood, never alone in combat. Nightwing had no doubts in his mind that if the Brotherhood's original plan of divide and conquer hadn't succeeded, then Phobia _would_ have attacked the Titans on their behalf.

"Why are you doing this?" Nightwing asked.

Phobia smiled. "To kill you, of course," she said.

"What?"

"I'm sure you know how stressful my nightmares can be," said Phobia. "They're so stressful that they can induce heart attacks. And now that both Changeling and Cyborg are awake, I can focus on all my attention on your little Starfire."

Nightwing yelled, and threw his two bird-a-rangs. The bird-a-rangs punctured Phobia's cloak, and pinned her to the wall. Nightwing leapt at her, kicking her in the face. He then delivered a flurry of punches to her stomach. When she tried to block them, he moved up, smashing his fists into her chest. A few cracks rang out between the sounds of armoured fists striking muscle and bone as Phobia's ribs cracked. The beating continued for a full minute, and when it ended, Nightwing stood there panting as Phobia gasped for air, leaning against the wall.

"Nobody tries to kill my wife," growled Nightwing, before he launched one final punch, knocking Phobia down to the ground. Only his iron will kept Nightwing from following suit. Nightwing pulled out his communicator and keyed it to a certain frequency as police sirens started ringing out.

* * *

_You fire a volley of starbolts at the oncoming hordes of Gordanians, but they keep coming at you._

_Behind you, your husband spins his bo staff, blocking the laser blasts, sending them ricocheting back down the streets of Jump City._

"_I didn't think there were this many of them left!" he yelled._

"_Neither did I!" you reply._

_Richard grabs his communicator and activated. "All Titans, come in!" he yells. "Report!"_

"_There's only me and Ravager left," said Raven as sounds of combat rang out from the communicator. "Everyone else is dead, even... even the kids."_

_Richard's eyes grow wide, and you gasp. The Gordanians had killed Melvin, Timmy and Teether?_

_A grunt echoes out of the communicator's speakers. "Raven!"_

"_I'm all right," she said. "But Rose is dead."_

_The communicator shuts off, and a black portal appears in front of you._

"_We're the only three left," said Raven._

_Richard nods, and pulls out a pair of bird-a-rangs, combining them into a sword. He holds the sword in one hand and the staff in the other._

"_Are you two ready for this," he asks._

_Raven nods, and so do you. "Richard, I..."_

"_I know, Kori," he whispers. "I love you too."_

_You grab him by his shirt and pull him towards you for one last kiss, kissing him deeply and passionately, until your ears start to ring from the lack of air..._

Kori's eyes snapped open as she woke up, gasping for air. She sat up and looked around wildly, sending droplets of sweat flying. All she saw was the familiar walls of Richard's room. Her breathing slowed, and she looked down at the empty sheets where her husband should be.

"Richard?" she asked timidly. "Where are you?"

That was when she finally realised that there had been a constant beeping all this time. She reached over and grabbed her communicator.

"Hello?"

"Kori?" said a very familiar voice. "Are you okay?"

"Richard! Oh, X'Hal, I just had the worst nightmare," she said, the words coming out in a rush. "The Gordanians came back, and they attacked the city, and everyone came to help and they... everyone was... killed..."

"Shhh," he said. "It's okay, Kori. It's okay. I'll be back soon, all right?"

Kori swallowed. "A-All right," she said, swallowing.

"Okay then," he said. "I'll be back soon. Love you." The screen of the communicator went black as he disconnected.

* * *

Richard pulled off his mask as he ran through the halls of the Tower, shoving it into one of the pockets of his utility belt. He yanked his gloves off next, clipping them onto his belt. He opened the door to his room, and his wife leapt out at him, hugging him tightly as she sobbed on his shoulder.

"Shhh," he whispered. "It's okay now, Kori. I'm here for you. Everything's okay now, I promise."

Richard rubbed his hands in soothing circles around her back, holding her as tightly as she was holding him.

"I've got you, Kori. I'm here."

* * *

"That was absolutely horrible," muttered Changeling. The members of Titans West had gathered in the common room. There was no way they could get back to sleep after what happened.

"Yeah," said Cyborg. "I wonder why Phobia hasn't attacked us before now?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," said Starfire. "It's over now. We don't have to worry about that happening again."

"Yeah, I hope so," said Changeling. "What do you guys think?" Changeling turned to face Nightwing and Raven, and his jaw dropped at the sight of them.

Nightwing and Raven had both fallen asleep. Nightwing's arm had been resting on the back of the couch, but it had slipped and fallen around Raven's shoulders. Raven had tucked her legs up on the couch, and her head had ended up resting on Nightwing's chest, and Nightwing was resting his head on hers.

"Well, they were up all night saving us," said Cyborg. "I think they deserve some sleep."

Starfire floated through the air and planted a gentle kiss on her husband's forehead. "Good night, Richard," she whispered.

* * *

Nightwing's nightmare is based on the beginning of Apprentice Part I. And by based on, I mean, analysed scene by scene for about half an hour as I tried to write down everything that happened. His fears in both nightmares are the same, too: He's scared he'll become like Slade, and he's scared his pursuit of Slade would hurt his friends. As for why he was able to stand up to those fears, well, he was trained by Batman. He's probably been a victim of Scarecrow's fear gas at least once before now.

Changeling's nightmare is obviously based on The Beast Within. I also tried to add a little BBRae ship-teasing in there. Hopefully I didn't go overboard. Cyborg's nightmare is based on one he had in The Sum of His Parts. Starfire's nightmare is more based on her history and the backstory I fleshed out in Titans Reunited, Brother, The Long Goodbye and Titans Alone. Specifically, the Gordanians, or what's left of them, come back and attack Earth to get Starfire, and end up killing most of the Titans as well. I also tried to hint at Raven's fear, and I thought it was a pretty big hint.

As Phobia learnt, you do not mess with Nightwing's wife. If you do, he will beat you within an inch of your life. Ouch. Those few scenes at the end, mostly I wrote them just to add a little bit of fluff after writing nearly nine pages of in-universe nightmare fuel. And what the hell is Wally up to? I know, obviously, but I'm not telling you just yet, so nyah! ;P

-ShortyBoss.


	3. Chapter 3: Recovery Sessions

New chapter, woo-hoo!

This chapter's pretty short, and not much really happens in it, but I still think it's pretty good. I'll let you guys be the judge of that, though.

Disclaimer: Disclaimed in Chapter One.

* * *

**Chapter Three: Recovery Sessions**

Early morning sunlight streamed in through the window, shining onto Richard's face. Richard moaned and opened his eyes, shielding his face with his arm. There was a groan beside him as Raven woke up. Richard removed his arm from her shoulders as she sat up, blinking in the sunlight.

"Morning," said Richard, covering his mouth as he yawned.

"Ugh, morning already?" groaned Raven. "Can't I sleep in?"

"I wish," replied Richard, standing up and walking towards the kitchen. "Thirsty?" he asked.

Raven nodded. Richard started to boil some water in the kettle to make her a cup of the herbal tea she liked to drink, and so he could make himself a coffee. Raven floated off down the hall, and came back a few minutes later, just as Richard finished making her tea.

"Thanks," she said, accepting the cup from him. Richard struggled not to laugh. Way back when, Raven had once said she was proud of the fact that she drank less caffeine than he did. In retaliation, he'd swapped out her preferred brand of herbal tea with an almost identical caffeinated version without her realising it. It had been funny for the first few weeks. It had been hilarious for the next few months. Now, four years later, it was absolutely hysterical.

Raven raised an eyebrow as she raised the cup to her lips. "Something funny?"

"No, not really," he replied, taking a sip and putting his coffee mug down. He walked over to the kitchen and started rummaging through the fridge. "Anything in here that doesn't need cooking?" he wondered to himself as he rummaged. "A-ha! Victory!"

Richard pulled out a slice of leftover pizza from a few nights ago. Most nights, there weren't any leftovers, thanks to Cyborg, but the Flash had been visiting them when he got called away on League business, leaving about a dozen unfinished pizzas.

Raven looked at Nightwing funny. "Pizza and coffee for breakfast?" she asked.

"Hey, it's better than having Meat vs Tofu, Round fifty something," said Richard around a mouthful. Raven nodded in agreement. Cyborg and Changeling were nowhere near as bad as they used to be, but occasionally they decided to have another big argument, just for the fun of it.

Richard picked up his coffee mug, and noticed a couple of sugar cubes floating in it, and the open packet on the counter. He glanced at Raven, and she just sipped at her tea innocently. Nightwing smiled as he drank a mouthful of coffee. He was glad to have such a good family...

The door opened, and Kori came floating in.

"Morning," she said cheerfully.

"Hey, sweetie," he said as she floated by. "You feeling all right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay now," she said. "Thanks to you."

"You're welcome," said Richard. "Do you... you know, want to talk about it?"

Kori paused for a second before nodding. She flew across the common room and sat down on the couch as Richard finished off his slice of pizza and sat down next to her.

"Last night... my nightmare... was that the Gordanians came back," said Kori. "They wanted to kill us for our part in the final battle in the war."

Richard nodded. Starfire had left for Tamaran about two and a half years ago; her adoptive father, Grand Ruler Galfore, had been killed, so Kori, as the only available member of the royal family, had to take the throne. A few months ago, she'd been captured, along with her disowned older sister Blackfire and her younger brother Wildfire. Wildfire had escaped to Earth, and had taken the Titans through space to Tamaran. When the Titans reached Tamaran, the Citadel, a mobile space station that served as a nomadic home for the Gordanians, had fired a superlaser at the surface of Tamaran, incinerating the planet's atmosphere. The Titans had fled, eventually locating the Tamaranean Remnant, as it was now called. The Citadel had engaged the Tamaranean Remnant in one final battle. During that battle, the Titans stormed the Citadel and freed Kori. With Kori free, the Titans caused the superlaser to misfire, which resulted in the space station exploding. Starfire had abdicated in favour of her younger brother, and had returned to Earth with the Titans.

Kori sighed. "Every Titan came to Jump City to fight, and the battle against them lasted for hours. Eventually, everyone was killed, except for you, me and Raven."

Richard was stunned. He had realised that it was bad of course, but he had no idea it had been so horrible. It was no wonder she'd broken down sobbing when he'd gotten back.

"Hey," he said, taking her hand. "I highly doubt there are enough Gordanians left to be much of a threat. And if there are, your brother and the Tamaraneans can handle them."

"I know," said Kori. "So... what was your nightmare last night?"

"Ah, it was nothing new," said Richard. "Just the whole Slade thing again. You know: Either I'm going to be like Slade because we're so similar, or my hunt for Slade is going to hurt you guys."

"Ah," said Kori. "So how'd that go?"

"Well, I ended up killing dream-Slade, and that was probably a bad idea," said Richard, "but... it doesn't matter how many similarities there are between me and him; our differences are much bigger. And anything I've ever done to hurt you guys has been a mistake, one that I'll never make again."

Kori nodded. "What happened with Phobia?"

"Well, I found her, obviously," said Richard. "Raven must've woken up the other two guys by then, because she said that with them awake, she was able to focus all her powers on you and kill you."

"I see," said Kori. "How badly did you beat her?"

Richard looked down in shame. "Pretty badly, actually," he admitted. "I know I shouldn't have, but, for that moment, I just lost it. I was so angry that she threatened to take you away from me, that I basically beat her within an inch of her life." He was silent for a few seconds. "It was wrong, it went against what I'm supposed to stand for... but if it happened again, I'd probably do the same thing."

"Richard, if it makes you feel better, I would have done the same thing if I was the one fighting Phobia," said Kori. "But I might have killed her accidentally if I'd beat her that badly."

Richard smiled. "Yeah, you do tend to forget your strength sometimes."

"Shut up," said Kori with a giggle, shoving him. Richard shoved her back, so Kori shoved him again, harder this time. This time, he grabbed her and pulled her with him as he fell onto his back. Kori landed on top of him, and Richard gave her a quick kiss.

"Can't get too carried away," he said. "Raven's still here."

"I'm glad _someone's_ thinking of me," said Raven. She levitated her now empty cup over to the kitchen, and the book she was currently reading floated over to her from the table.

"So how did you overcome Phobia's nightmare, Raven?" asked Kori as Raven sat down.

"I hadn't actually gone to sleep when she struck," said Raven. "I was meditating; I usually sleep better if I meditate before going to bed."

"So, Phobia's powers never had any effect on you, then," said Richard.

"I wouldn't say that, exactly," said Raven.

"What do you mean?"

"I think she might have affected me a little while I was meditating," she said. "It was pretty weak; I just thought it was bad memories rising up again."

Richard nodded. It had been Raven's twenty-first birthday last week. The events surrounding her sixteenth birthday and the few weeks after that had been pretty bad for all of them, but Raven had it the worst.

"So, you saw your deepest fear?" asked Kori.

"I'm not sure if it was my deepest fear, but yeah, I think so," said Raven.

"What was it?" asked Richard. "Your father?"

Raven nodded. "It's not that I'm scared of him," she said. "I'm scared he might come back somehow."

Richard nodded. "I wish I could say it's impossible to come back, but..."

"It would be a bad idea to tempt fate?" finished Raven.

"Something like that," said Richard. He looked around; finally realising that two people were missing. "Where are the other guys?"

"They left earlier," said Kori. "They're trying to track down Mumbo."

"Ah. That would explain why it's so quiet." Richard pulled his communicator out and called them.

"Good morning, O Fearless Leader," said Cyborg in an over-the-top enthusiastic manner. "How you feeling?" he asked in a more normal tone.

"Pretty good," said Richard. "So, you two had any luck?"

Cyborg shook his head. "I'm hanging around the bank to provide extra security during the repairs, and green bean's sniffing around for signs of Mumbo."

Richard nodded, and plugged his communicator into the Tower computer. He brought up a map of Jump City, with two glowing green triangles: one to represent Cyborg, the other, Changeling.

"Changeling, have you been keeping track of your progress?"

"Yeah," said Changeling. "I'll send you the data from my communicator."

After a few seconds of fiddling, a green trail appeared on the map, winding its way through the streets to the marker that stood in for Changeling.

"I've been going to all the places Mumbo used to perform before he lost it," said Changeling, twirling a finger around his temple to indicate his opinion of Mumbo's sanity. "Nothing so far."

"All right, keep looking," said Richard. "And when you find him—"

"Don't worry, boss, we'll call you," said Cyborg.

"All right, all right," said Nightwing. "Good luck."

Changeling and Cyborg both signed off, and their images disappeared from the monitor.

"They'll be fine," said Kori.

"I know," said Richard. "I'm not worried about them."

Behind him, the door hissed open, and a red-and-yellow blur raced past, headed in the direction of the kitchen.

"Hungry, Wally?" asked Richard.

"Ah, you know me," said Wally "The Flash" West, pulling his mask off. "I gotta eat to live, and all that jazz."

"You could eat a little less," said Jinx, as she and Bumblebee walked in. "Be grateful your aunt is used to feeding you guys. Barry doesn't eat nearly as much as you do, anyway."

"I know," said Wally cheerfully as he carried about five cold pizzas to the table. "I don't have to eat all that food; I just want to."

"Well, if you're not careful, I'm going to want to stop buying food," replied Jinx.

"Don't be like that, Lorraine," said Wally.

Jinx just glared at him, her eyes just starting to glow pink.

Wally held up his hands in surrender. "All right, all right. From now on, I'll eat only three meals a day. But they have to be big ones."

"Deal," said Jinx.

"Thanks," said Wally. He kissed Jinx on the cheek, and then started wolfing down pizza ungracefully.

Raven used her powers to shield herself from stray crumbs as Wally ate, and Bumblebee took refuge behind the shield with Raven.

"So what'd I miss?" Bumblebee asked.

"Not much," said Raven as she turned a page. "Mumbo robbed a bank yesterday, and he got away after casting a spell that created evil copies of us, and last night, Phobia gave us nightmares of our deepest fears before Richard hunted her down and beat her up."

Bumblebee blinked. "And you call that _not much_?!"

Raven nodded. "Just an average day in Jump City."

Wally had finished eating by now, and had dumped the empty boxes in the bin.

"So, what did the League need you for?" Richard asked him.

"Well, it started off as just an average fight with Lex Luthor in power armour," said Wally. "But then we ended up in another dimension where the Justice League went rogue after their Flash died. They captured us and came to our dimension, we escaped and followed them back here, and we beat them up and sent them back home."

"So, it was just a normal League mission?"

Wally nodded. "Yeah, pretty much." He was quiet for a second. "So, I heard Raven saying Mumbo is on the loose?"

Richard nodded. "The other two guys are out looking for him."

"I'll go help them," said Wally, pulling the mask of his Flash suit back on. "It's not like I had anything better to do."

There was a whoosh as Wally ran off... and a thud as he ran into the door.

"It would help if you opened the door first," teased Richard.

Wally moaned. "You'd think I'd remember to speed up my reaction time, wouldn't you?" he asked no one in particular. He sighed. "Uncle Barry never had this problem."

Wally opened the door, and then ran off. A few seconds later, Richard watched as the Scarlet Speedster raced across the ocean towards Jump City.

* * *

They just wanted to talk, that's all. It's nice to slow down every once in a while and talk things through with one another, get things off your chest, etc, etc.

Anyway, this gave me an excuse to write a little bit of fluff. I also used a few ideas from the Teen Titans Headcanons blog on Tumblr. Specifically, #168 (Raven prides herself on not taking in as much caffeine as Robin, who is an avid coffee drinker. What she doesn't know is that Robin switched out her usual tea for a similar, caffeinated variety years ago) and #169 (Even though he hates the taste, Robin drinks coffee black because it seems more adult to him and that's how Batman drinks it. Since realising this, the other Titans have made a game of slipping sugar in his coffee when he's not looking. Robin notices, but is very grateful). I discovered that blog a few days ago, and I'm very glad it exists. It's got some great ideas that I could use, and do use. If you're interested, check it out (teentitansheadcanons. tumblr. com, remove the spaces).

As for the mission Wally was on, those familiar with the Justice League cartoon may know what he's talking about. And Wally seems to have a bad habit of running into doors. Mind you, though, everyone runs into a door at least once in their life. I remember this one time... never mind.

As for what happens next, well, we'll deal with that next time, won't we?

-ShortyBoss.


	4. Chapter 4: Fact Finding

Hey guys. Sorry this one took a while. I got into an epic battle with Writer's Block, but I eventually managed to overcome him. This chapter may be a little weak, but it's just so I can get the story moving again.

Disclaimer: Is on Chapter One

* * *

**Chapter Four: Fact Finding**

"There he is!"

Cyborg chased after Mumbo, with Changeling, currently in the form of a bloodhound, running beside him. The magician turned left into an alleyway and pointed his wand at the wall. A hole appeared in the wall, and Mumbo ran through. A red and yellow blur zoomed past Changeling and Cyborg, making it through the hole just before it started closing. Mumbo looked back at the wall as it closed, and laughed as he saw Changeling and Cyborg stop dead. He looked forward, and his laughter died as he spotted the Flash leaning casually on the wall. The Flash stuck his foot out, tripping Mumbo. Once Mumbo had slid to a stop, the Flash grabbed his hat and wand, and held the hat out, shaking it. Several things fell out of the hat, including playing cards, bouquets, a rabbit, a pigeon, and the bag of cash Mumbo had stolen yesterday.

The Flash casually tossed the hat aside, and snapped Mumbo's wand. Without the wand to maintain the illusion, Mumbo's bright blue skin faded to a much more normal colour. The Flash then took out his Titans communicator and called the other two.

"I got him," he said.

"Did you break his wand?" asked Cyborg.

"Yeah," said the Flash. "The wand is the source of his powers, right?"

"It sure is," said Cyborg. "Thanks."

"Hey, no problem," said the Flash. "You guys want me to meet up with you, or are you guys coming over here?"

"We'll head over to you," said Changeling. "Just give me a second to—_Ugh_!"

"What the...?!" said the Flash as Changeling yelped in pain. He could hear a sonic cannon firing on the other side of the wall. The Flash ran towards the wall, vibrating his molecules at the right speed so he could pass through the wall. Once he was through, he saw Changeling struggling back to his feet. He raced over and helped the green-skinned young man back up.

"You all right?" asked the Flash.

Changeling nodded. "Cy's going after the guy. Help him out."

"You sure you'll be okay?" asked the Flash.

"Yes, I'm sure," said Changeling. "Now _go_!"

The Flash ran off, rounding the corner and going after Cyborg. He saw Cyborg taking aim with his sonic cannon, and the Flash took a quick look at the target. The guy was wearing jeans and a red hoodie, and the hood was up, so the Flash couldn't see the guys face, and red energy surrounded his hands. Cyborg fired his sonic cannon, and the Flash raced towards him. The guy's eyes flashed red under his hoodie, and a red dome surrounded him. Once the dome faded, the guy was gone. The Flash skidded to a stop where the guy had been standing.

"Who the hell was that?" asked the Flash as Cyborg finally caught up.

"I have no idea," said Cyborg. "He just came out of nowhere and blasted Changeling. Then he ran out here so I followed him. Then you came up and, well, you saw the rest."

The Flash nodded. "D'you get a look at his face?"

Cyborg shook his head. "He was wearing his hood the whole time. I just hope I managed to record enough with this," Cyborg tapped his prosthetic eye, and the red glow faded slightly.

"I didn't know you could record stuff with that," said the Flash.

"Well, I don't normally use it for recording," said Cyborg. "Let's just get back to the Tower and have a look at it."

* * *

"Wait," said Nightwing, squinting as he watched the footage. "Go back a bit."

Cyborg rewound the footage, and the red dome that had appeared started moving in reverse.

"Stop," said Nightwing. The other Titans had gathered around, all watching the footage intently.

"Go back a few frames," said Nightwing. Cyborg obliged, tapping a button.

"A few more," said Nightwing, staring at the man's hooded face. "A few more... Another one... One more... There!"

Nightwing pointed at the image, and the others saw what he was pointing at immediately.

Raven gasped in shock. It couldn't be... it was impossible...

"What the...?" asked Jinx.

"What is that _thing_ on his forehead?" asked Bumblebee.

"Look at his eyes," said Starfire.

Nightwing nodded. "I see it. My question is how is it possible?"

"It shouldn't be," said Cyborg. "We beat the guy five years ago. There shouldn't be any way he could come back."

"Okay, time out," said the Flash. "What the hell is up with this guy? Why has he got four eyes? And what's up with that weird glowy tattoo on his forehead?"

"The tattoo is the Mark of Scath," said Raven. Her hand was rubbing her forehead, where she had once had that same mark branded onto her skin. "It's a symbol of the Church of Blood... the followers of Trigon the Terrible."

"You mean that big demon guy who turned everyone onto the planet into statues?!" asked Bumblebee. "_That_ Trigon?"

Raven nodded. "And the four eyes... that means that... he's a son of Trigon himself."

"Are you sure?" asked the Flash.

"Yes," said Raven. "I know because... I'm also one of Trigon's children."

Jinx gasped in shock. Bumblebee stared at Raven in shock, and the Flash's jaw dropped.

Nightwing, Starfire, Changeling and Cyborg looked at each other. If this guy was a son of Trigon, it could be possible that he wasn't the only one.

"Do you have any idea how many children Trigon may have had?" asked Nightwing.

Raven shook her head. "As far as I knew, I was the only one. But I might be able to find out."

"How?"

"I've got a book somewhere in my room," said Raven. "I'll see if I can find it."

* * *

Changeling knocked on Raven's door. "You found it yet?" he asked.

The door opened, and Changeling walked in. Raven was floating cross-legged in the middle of the room, books floating around her.

"No," said Raven. "I have no idea where I put it."

"Want me to help you look?" asked Changeling.

Raven sighed, and she nodded. "I doubt you'll find it."

Changeling shrugged. "I'm willing to give it a shot." He walked over to her bed and crouched down.

"Why are you looking under my bed?" Raven asked.

"Hey, you never know," said Changeling as he groped around blindly under the bed. "It might just be here... hah!"

Changeling pulled out his arm, holding up a rather dusty book.

"Is this the book you're looking for?"

Raven raised a hand, and the book levitated across the room towards her. She waved her hand, and the book flipped open, the pages flipping past until she came across a blood-red illustration of the Mark of Scath.

"Yeah," said Raven. "This is the book."

* * *

"So, what's this 'Church of Blood' you mentioned?" asked Cyborg. "Any relation to Brother Blood?"

Raven shook her head. She had taken the book and it was now sitting on the table in the main room of the Tower, and the other Titans had gathered around.

"I don't think that Brother Blood has any relation to the Church of Blood," she said. "Anyway, like I said earlier, they worshipped Trigon. They used the Mark of Scath as cover. They didn't want anyone to know that they were worshipping what's basically the devil. Before I was born, my mother ended up with the Church of Blood for some reason; she never told me why. She was going to be married to Trigon, but she eventually realised what was going on, and she tried to escape. Then Trigon... he... he raped my mother," Raven whispered.

Changeling rested a comforting hand on her shoulder, and Raven sighed. "After that, she was planning on committing suicide when she was found by the Monks of Azar. They took her in, and after I was born, they raised me. I didn't see my mother much during that time; the monks were worried about what would happen if my emotions got out of control."

"That's right," said Starfire. "When your emotions are too strong, you can't control your powers. You haven't had to be so restrained after we defeated your father."

Raven nodded. "After we defeated him, his influence over me was weakened, I guess. I only have to worry about when I get really angry these days."

"But this new guy," said the Flash, bringing the conversation back to the matter at hand. "Is he also from this Church of Blood?"

"He'd have to be," said Raven. "My father could only physically manifest in this world for short periods of time, and only in areas prepared by the Church. I don't know why my father would have more than one child, but I can guess."

"Why?" asked Jinx.

"Insurance," said Raven. "I was supposed to be the portal that allowed him to conquer Earth, but if that plan failed, then he'd have a backup."

"And you're saying this guy's the backup?" said Cyborg. "Do you know if he has any other brothers or sisters?"

Raven shook her head. "I tried to find something in here, but there's nothing except for the prophecy about me."

"So we have no way of finding out about this guy?" asked Nightwing.

"Actually... there might be a way," said Raven slowly.

"I'm listening," said Nightwing.

"I could go back to Azarath and ask the Monks of Azar if they know anything about this," said Raven. "If anyone knows anything about Trigon's children, they might."

"All right, then," said Nightwing. "I'll go with you."

"Me too," said Changeling.

"I... I don't know," said Raven. "I've never tried to take anyone with me to Azarath before: I don't know what might happen to you."

"Don't worry, Raven," said Nightwing. "We trust you."

Changeling nodded. "And you don't have to do this alone," he said. "We're your friends, remember?"

Raven was silent for a few seconds, and then she sighed. "Okay, you can come."

* * *

"So this is Azarath, huh?" said Changeling, looking around.

"Yeah," said Raven. The extra-dimensional city had been razed by her father five years ago, and after Starfire had left for Tamaran, Raven had come back, and had spent two years helping to rebuild.

As the three Titans walked down the streets towards the Temple, Changeling couldn't help but notice how many people were staring at them.

"We seem to be the centre of attention," he said.

"Well, I doubt green skin is very common around here," said Nightwing.

"Neither are domino masks," said Changeling. "Or black and blue spandex.

"Touché," said Nightwing.

Silence descended upon the trio as they continued their journey through the streets of Azarath. Nightwing watched a dove fly past, heading towards a building with a golden symbol on the side. The symbol was that of a bird, wings swept upward, and tail pointed downwards.

"Is that the Temple?" asked Nightwing, pointing.

Raven nodded. "My mother and the rest of the Monks live there."

Changeling whistled. "It's pretty fancy," he said. "So, are we going in through the front door?"

"No," said Raven. "We'll go a different way."

Raven waved her hand, her eyes flashing white, and a black disc formed under the Titans. She levitated the disc upwards, heading for one of the Temple's balconies. Once the three of them had reached the balcony, they stepped off the disc, and the black energy dissipated.

"So... whereabouts in the Temple are we?" asked Nightwing quietly.

"This is the balcony to my mother's chambers," said Raven.

As Raven spoke, the door to the Temple opened, and a woman wearing a white robe stepped out. The hood of the robe was down; exposing hair stained a similar shade to Raven's hair. Nightwing easily spotted the family resemblance between mother and daughter.

"Rachel?" asked the woman.

"Hey, mom," said Raven, stepping forward and hugging her mother.

"I'm glad to see you're all right," said Raven's mother.

"I'm glad to see you, too," said Raven, letting go of her mother. "But I didn't come here to socialise."

"I know," said Raven's mother, stepping past her daughter to look at Nightwing and Changeling.

"You must be Rachel's friends," she said.

Nightwing nodded. "I'm Nightwing, and this is Changeling," he said, pointing first to himself, then at Changeling.

"My name is Arella," said Raven's mother. "Leader of the Monks of Azar." She looked around. "I have a feeling that we have much to discuss, and this isn't really the place. Please, come inside."

Arella led the three into the Temple. Changeling managed to catch up to Raven.

"So," he said innocently. "Rachel, huh?"

To his surprise, Raven blushed in embarrassment. "Shut up," she said quietly.

Changeling's grin became decidedly evil. "Ooh, I'm gonna get a _lot_ of mileage out of this one."

"First of all, that was my line," said Raven, "and second of all, I never teased you about your name, so you can't tease me about mine."

Changeling opened his mouth to respond... and closed it again.

"She's right, you know," said Nightwing.

Changeling groaned. "I hate it when she uses logic on me."

Nightwing smiled, then turned to Raven. "Didn't you say that 'Raven' was your real name?"

"I never said that," said Raven. "I said it was the name given to me by the Monks of Azar when I was born. I didn't say that it was my real name."

"You sure?" said Changeling. "Because I distinctly remember that when we were exchanging real names after Ding Dong Daddy's race, you said it was your real name."

"No I didn't," said Raven.

"Yes you did," said Changeling.

"I'm with the green guy on this one," said Nightwing. "You said Raven was your real name."

"Fine," said Raven with a sigh. "I admit it: I lied. Happy now?"

Nightwing and Changeling looked at each other, then back at Raven. "No," they said in unison.

"Not until you tell us your last name," said Nightwing.

Raven was silent for a second. "Roth," she said. "My full name is Rachel Roth."

"There, see, that wasn't so hard, was it?" said Changeling.

Raven just rolled her eyes, and hurried to catch up with her mother. Arella lead the three Titans into a side room, with furniture set up not unlike a conference table.

"No one will disturb us here," said Arella, sitting down at one of the chairs. "Now, then, what did you need to see me about.

Between the three of them, Nightwing, Changeling and Raven explained the attack on Changeling, and their suspicions as to who he was. Once they were finished, Arella sat back, deep in thought.

"A son of Trigon," she whispered to herself.

Nightwing nodded. "If you know anything about this, please, we need to know."

Arella was quiet for a short time. "Very well. I will explain what I know the best I can."

"It was prophesised that Rachel would be the portal that would allow Trigon's escape," said Arella. "She was the gem that would open the portal. However, she is not the only child of Trigon in your universe."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'our universe'?" asked Changeling.

"Trigon has sired children in many different universes," explained Arella. "He is bent on conquering all the universes in existence, and has succeeded as many times as he has failed."

"Oh, okay," said Changeling. "Sorry to interrupt."

"It's fine," said Arella. "There are seven children of Trigon in each universe he has visited."

"Seven?" asked Nightwing. "Why seven?"

"Each of Trigon's children represents one of the seven sins," said Arella. "Wrath, Avarice, Greed, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth and Pride."

"So, the guy who attacked me," said Changeling. "Which one was he?"

"I believe he was Wrath," said Arella. "Red is the traditional colour for Wrath. Avarice is green, greed is yellow, Lust is dark blue, Gluttony is orange, Sloth is light blue, and Pride is purple."

Nightwing and Changeling both turned to look at Raven, staring at her purple hair and eyes.

"Wha...? You mean... I'm Pride?" asked Raven in shock.

Arella nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she said sadly.

Raven managed a smile. "It's okay," she said.

"So, if Raven's Pride, how come her powers are black, not purple?" asked Changeling.

"I'm... not sure," said Arella. "It might be because Rachel has not given into the sin of pride and not let it control her. The others may have let their respective sins control them."

"So we're up against six guys," said Nightwing. "Can they summon Trigon by themselves?"

"I don't know," said Arella. "If they entered an area that had been prepared by the Church of Blood, then it is possible that they could summon Trigon."

Raven gasped. "The hidden room in the old library," she said.

Nightwing nodded. "Cyborg said that place was much older than the rest of the library, and the Mark of Scath was on the door."

"If they are from the Church of Blood, then they probably know it's there," said Changeling. "Only question is, why haven't they tried to raise Trigon before?"

"They planets need to be aligned in a certain way," said Arella. "On the day of the prophecy, five years ago, the planets were aligned correctly at dusk, which allowed the portal to open."

"So when will the planets align again?" asked Nightwing.

"Today," said Arella. "Just after noon. You haven't got much time."

"Are you absolutely sure?" asked Nightwing.

Arella nodded. "Unfortunately, yes."

Nightwing stood up. "Thank you for your time, Arella," he said politely. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to go save the world. Again."

"Go," said Arella. "And good luck."

Nightwing and Changeling started to leave, and Raven got up to follow them.

"Rachel?" said Arella, and Raven stopped, looking back at her mother.

"Be careful," said Arella.

Raven smiled. "I will, mom. I promise."

* * *

The other Titans were sitting around in the main room when Nightwing, Changeling and Raven returned.

"Hey, you're back," said the Flash. "What'd you find out?"

"No time to talk now," said Nightwing. "We have to get down to the old library. We'll explain on the way."

* * *

So, as the saying goes, the plot thickens.

Next time, we get a fight between the Titans and the six Sons of Trigon! But things might go a little differently to what you might expect...

-ShortyBoss.


	5. Chapter 5: Family Squabbles

Guess who?

Yep, new chapter already. Like I said at the end of last chapter, that was just so I could get the story moving again. This is where I was moving the story to. I hope y'all enjoy this one.

Disclaimer: The disclaimer hasn't moved from Chapter One. If you want it, go there.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Family Squabbles**

Raven looked around warily. The hidden room in the abandoned library had been reduced to rubble. The pedestal where Raven had become the portal was vaporised, and debris was strewn all over the place. Part of the room was still intact. That was the area Raven had shielded to protect her friends when Trigon had arrived.

"I'm not picking up any other people around here," said Cyborg, tapping his arm. A small display lit up, the glow highlighting his face in the dark. "Are you sure they're coming?"

"No," said Nightwing. "But we can't take any chances."

"They're coming," said Raven. "I can sense them."

"Are you sure?" asked Starfire.

Raven nodded. "Trust me."

Around her, the Titans slipped into battle stances. Nightwing pulled out an explosive disc. Starfire floated in the air, green starbolt energy surrounding her hands. Changeling knelt on the ground, ready to morph into anything. Cyborg transformed his right hand into a sonic cannon and a spotlight popped up from his right shoulder. Jinx's eyes glowed pink. Bumblebee raised her stingers, electricity crackling along the yellow weapons. The Flash shifted his weight on his feet, ready to spring into action. Raven used her powers to flip up her hood.

Nightwing saw movement in the shadows, and hurled his explosive disc. The explosion ripped a hole into the wall of the room, and someone yelped in pain, the concussive force sending him flying. Cyborg shone his spotlight onto the man, giving the Titans the first real look at their adversary. The hood of his jacket had slipped back, revealing blood-red hair. The young man sat up and opened eyes with crimson irises.

"I'm going to assume that you're Wrath," said Nightwing as he pulled out another explosive disc.

The young man smiled maliciously. "Got it in one, birdbrain," Wrath said. He started to stand up, but Cyborg, Starfire and Bumblebee took aim at him.

"Don't move," said Cyborg.

"I'm not the one you should worry about," said Wrath.

Dark green blasts started raining down from above, and Starfire fired a starbolt in the direction of the attacker. A young man with dark green hair and eyes jumped down, landing some distance from the Titans.

"Let me guess," said the Flash. "You're Envy."

Envy bowed. "At your service."

An orange energy attack struck Changeling, and the green-skinned young man spun to face an obese man with orange hair and eyes.

"Gluttony," said Starfire, eyeing him in disgust.

A yellow blast was fired at Jinx, but Bumblebee fired her stingers at the attack, knocking the yellow energy off course, illuminating a shifty looking man with yellow hair and eyes.

"Greed," said Jinx.

"Yup," said Greed cheerfully. "That's me."

A light blue blast flew lazily at Cyborg, and it was ridiculously easy for him to dodge. Cyborg shone his spotlight at the source, revealing a man with sky-blue hair and eyes, leaning casually against the wall.

"You must be Sloth," said Cyborg.

In reply, Sloth yawned lazily.

A dark blue energy construct reached out and grabbed Bumblebee by the arm, and started pulling on her. Jinx fired a hex at the source, and the explosion caused the hand to dissipate. The man who created it got back to his feet, and Bumblebee spotted his dark blue hair, and equally dark blue eyes.

"You're Lust," she said.

The six Sons of Trigon had surrounded the Titans, and the Titans stood with their backs to each other, ready to fight.

"You haven't got a chance against us," said Nightwing. "You should give up."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said Wrath. The young man's eyes glowed red, and red energy surrounded his hands. "Now!" he yelled, placing a hand on the ground. Each of the others placed a hand on the ground.

"Hezberek, Necronom, Mortix!" the six of them chanted. Beams energy shot out along the ground, and the six beams met up in the gap behind the Titans. A multi-coloured pillar of energy shot up, before exploding, knocking down the Titans, stunning them. Nightwing lifted his head, his vision blurring, and watched as Envy and Lust grabbed Raven by her arms and started dragging her towards the remnants of the pedestal.

"No," he moaned, staggering to his feet. Wrath waved a hand at him, and a red blast of energy struck him, knocking him onto his back.

"Stay down," ordered Wrath.

Envy and Lust dumped Raven where the pedestal had been, and her six half-brothers surrounded her.

"Is she still alive?" asked Greed.

"Yeah," said Envy. "Now let's get this over with."

The Sons of Trigon raised their arms, eyes glowing as the Marks of Scath burnt into their foreheads lit up.

"_They gem was born of evil's fire,_

_The gem shall be his portal."_

"No," moaned Raven as she was lifted up and the tattoos Slade had branded her with lit up, floating off her skin and forming circles around her.

"_He comes to claim, he comes to sire,_

_The end of all things mortal."_

"NO!" screamed Raven as the portal opened. Raven was lost in a swirling, fiery portal, and an all too familiar silhouette rose up.

"At last," growled Trigon. "Once more, this world will be mine!"

Red, green, dark blue, light blue, orange and yellow blasts of energy shot out and wrapped around Trigon, snaring him.

"Not so fast," said Wrath.

"What is this?" growled Trigon.

"We weren't bringing you here to let you conquer the world," said Wrath. "We're here to steal your powers and use them for ourselves."

"It's treason, then," Trigon rumbled. "You have betrayed me."

The energy holding Trigon glowed white, and a pulse travelled down the beams towards the Sons of Trigon.

"Excellent," said Trigon. "You are worthy of being my sons, and you are worthy of my powers."

The six young men smiled.

"But," continued Trigon, "as I can no longer trust you, you are no longer worthy of having control of your actions."

The pulse travelling down the energy beams intensified, and Trigon's six sons screamed in pain.

"Instead of absorbing as much of my power as you can control, I will use my powers to control you," said Trigon. "You would never be able to control this much of my power, so I may as well put it to good use."

There was a blinding flash of light, and the Titans felt a concussive force pushing them back. Once the light faded, Nightwing got back to his feet, and saw the other Titans doing the same. Changeling ran over to the remains of the pedestal, and started shoving rubble aside. He kept digging until he'd found Raven.

"Rachel? Are you okay?" he asked. "C'mon, Rae, say something."

Raven's eyes snapped open. However, this time the two eyes she'd received from her father, the ones that normally remained hidden, also opened. Her four eyes had a strange purple glow to them, and she blasted Changeling with a blast of energy the same colour, sending him flying.

"My name is Pride," said Raven. Her voice was different: as she spoke, Trigon's voice echoed behind it.

Cyborg helped Changeling to his feet as the corrupted Raven started floating towards them, her half-brothers following close behind.

"Raven's gone," said Nightwing. "She's Pride now."

"There's got to be a way to save her!" yelled Changeling.

"I hope you're right," said Nightwing as the Seven Deadly Sins closed in. "But we can't talk about that now. Titans, GO!"

* * *

Nightwing charged at Wrath, and Wrath created a wall of red energy. Nightwing managed to stop before he ran into it. He started to circle around Wrath, and Wrath matched his moves.

"I can sense your anger," said Wrath. "You hate me for what I did to your friend Raven. Understandable. Now nurture that anger. Feed it. Let it control you." As Wrath spoke, his voice changed. Instead of his normal voice with Trigon's echo, his voice was becoming quieter, dropping to a scarily familiar monotone. "I know what makes you angry, Nightwing."

Wrath's appearance changed. He got taller, and his hoodie and jeans transformed into an armoured black bodysuit. His face was hidden by an orange and black faceplate, with only one visible eyehole.

"Now let's see what happens when you lose control," said Slade. "_Apprentice_."

Nightwing screamed in anger, charging at Slade. Nightwing punched and kicked, but Slade dodged or blocked his attacks. Nightwing swung a kick at Slade, but Slade dropped down and hit Nightwing's support leg, tripping him. Slade watched as Nightwing got back to his feet.

"You're not Slade," Nightwing growled. "You're just an illusion to make me angry."

"Yes, apprentice, I am just an illusion," said Slade. "And it's working perfectly."

Nightwing swung a punch at Slade. Slade raised his hand to grab Nightwing's punch, and Nightwing stopped his punch before he got to Slade's hand. Nightwing then lashed out with his other fist, striking Slade in the chest.

"All these years fighting you, and you thought I wouldn't learn anything," said Nightwing.

"Yes," said Slade. "Perhaps you aren't such a lost cause after all, apprentice."

Nightwing threw a bird-a-rang at Slade, but Slade dodged.

"I'm not your apprentice, Slade," growled Nightwing as he caught the bird-a-rang he'd thrown. "Not anymore!"

Nightwing pushed a button on the bird-a-rang, and a hidden mechanism caused a short blade to shoot out. Nightwing charged at Slade, slashing at him with the bird-a-rang knife. Slade dodged, and struck Nightwing's arm at the wrist. Nightwing's hand opened instinctively, and he dropped the bird-a-rang knife. Nightwing responded by elbowing Slade in the face. Slade staggered back, and swung a punch at Nightwing. Nightwing blocked the blow with his forearms, but the force of the attack still caused him to stagger back a few steps.

"Very good, apprentice, but, it is ultimately futile," said Slade. "I'll always be the better fighter between us, and when I've finished with you, I'll move onto your friends. Starting with Starfire—_oof_!"

Nightwing closed the gap between them in an instant, ramming his fist into Slade's gut. Slade staggered back from the force of the blow. Cold fury burned through his veins, but this time, Nightwing wasn't going to release his fury in a mad rush: this time, Nightwing was going to fight coldly, calculating every move, maintaining a mask of cool tranquillity as his anger burned hotly inside.

Slade charged at Nightwing and punched at him. Nightwing dodged to the right, and fired of a series of rapid punches into Slade's side. Slade tried to hit him again, swinging his arm horizontally. Nightwing ducked, and struck Slade with an uppercut. Slade punched again, and Nightwing moved so his uninjured left shoulder took the blow. There was a crack as Slade broke a knuckle punching Nightwing's armoured shoulder. Nightwing brought his knee up, striking Slade in the groin. Slade collapsed, curling into a ball as he moaned in pain. The illusion faded, and Slade's masked face was replaced with that of Wrath.

"How...?" moaned Wrath.

"Just because I'm angry doesn't mean I'm going to stop thinking," said Nightwing. Nightwing lashed out with his booted foot, striking Wrath in the temple, knocking him out. Nightwing staggered, exhausted from his fight, trying not to collapse himself.

* * *

Starfire fired a volley of starbolts at Gluttony, but her opponent shielded himself with orange energy. An orange blast shot out and knocked her out of the air. Starfire staggered to her feet, feeling more tired than she should be after such a short fight. Gluttony grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up, and Starfire started feeling weaker by the second.

"I can absorb the energy of anyone I touch," said Gluttony. "I'll feast on your energy until you die."

Starfire struggled against Gluttony's hold, but his meaty hand had a tight grip on her throat. Starfire looked up, and fired her eyebeams at the ceiling. The ensuing explosion caused debris to fall down, striking Gluttony and distracting him. Starfire broke free from his grip and sprinted away from him. She jumped, trying to take flight, but she only made it a few metres before her strength gave out and she collapsed. Starfire scrambled to her feet, and saw Gluttony heading her way. She fired a flurry of starbolts at him, catching him by surprise and sending him flying. A trickle of dirt from the ceiling landed in her hair, and she looked up.

_Of course! We're underground_, she thought. _So if I can make a tunnel to the surface..._

Starfire raised her arms, and fired a stream of starbolt energy at the ceiling of the underground room. The green blast tunnelled away at the roof, tearing through rock and dirt. After about ten seconds, a green beam lanced out of the ground, blasting through the floor of the library, then the roof. Starfire ended the attack and lowered her arms as sunlight started filtering through.

Gluttony ran up and grabbed her wrist, and Starfire twisted her hand until she had her hand wrapped around his wrist as well.

"What?" he asked.

"I can absorb ultraviolet light to sustain myself indefinitely," said Starfire. "As long as I'm standing in the sun, I have the energy to keep going."

Starfire grabbed Gluttony's other arm and head-butted him, stunning the obese young man. Gluttony tried to free himself from Starfire's grip, but he couldn't get free, constantly absorbing energy. He started to glow, and wisps of smoke started to form, rising up from his skin. Gluttony whimpered in pain.

"This might sting a little," said Starfire, her eyes glowing green. She released her hold on Gluttony and fired her eyebeams at his chest. The eyebeams caused the energy Gluttony had absorbed to be released in an instant, causing a massive explosion. Starfire was sent flying, smashing into a wall hard enough to leave a small crater. Starfire slid to the ground, dazed. She moaned as she tried to push herself back into a sitting position at least, and stared across the room to where Gluttony was lying unconscious. Smoke was rising from his skin, and his clothes were shredded. Starfire doubted that he would be able to get up any time soon, which was a good thing, she decided as she rested her head on the ground. She'd have a chance to rest for a while...

* * *

The Flash sprinted towards Envy, swinging a punch. Before the blow could land, Envy vanished. The Flash stopped, and looked around. Something raced past him, smacking him in the side. The Flash staggered, looking at his assailant. His opponent was wearing a uniform that was almost identical to his own.

"U-uncle Barry...?" whispered Wally.

Barry Allen sprinted towards Wally and punched him, sending Wally flying. Once Wally slid to a stop, Barry raced up and stood over him.

"What's the matter?" Barry taunted. "Not fast enough?"

Wally raised his head and glared at Barry. "You're not Barry," he said, getting to his feet. "You're just an illusion."

"I might be an illusion, but your feelings are real," said Barry. Barry unloaded a fast flurry of punches at Wally. "You'll always be envious of my speed." Barry threw one final punch, hitting Wally in the jaw. Wally staggered back, and wiped the blood off of his split lip.

"You want to race, buddy?" Wally said angrily. "Let's race."

Wally raced towards Barry, and started punching and kicking at high speeds. The world seemed to slow down as Wally sped up, firing a whirlwind of punches. But no matter how fast Wally moved, Barry always managed to race out of the way with time to spare. The fight ended mere seconds after it had begun, but it seemed like it had lasted for several minutes to Wally. Wally stopped, resting his hands on his knees, panting like a bellows.

"What's the matter?" asked Barry. "Feeling a little tired, are we? Looks like you'll never be able to break the sound barrier."

Wally gritted his teeth. Ever since he'd gotten his powers, he'd never been able to break the sound barrier. He used to think he'd be faster when he was older, but he hadn't been able to break the sound barrier even after taking up the Flash mantle from his uncle. Barry had done it easily, as had Jay Garrick, who had been the Flash in the Forties and Fifties. He was the only Flash who hadn't broken the sound barrier yet. But it was time to change that.

Wally sprinted past Barry, racing into the corridor outside the room where the portal had opened. He turned around and sprinted back in, arms and legs pumping, running faster than he'd ever run before. He didn't notice the small red sparks of electricity that travelled across his skin as he ran. Wally ran past Barry, stopping before he hit the wall. Less than a second later, there was a loud crack, caused by the sonic boom of Wally running past. The wind generated by Wally's fast run caused Barry to stagger, and Wally fired off a series of punches while Barry was still disoriented. Barry collapsed, unconscious, and the face of Barry Allen faded away, leaving Wally staring at Envy.

Wally took several deep breaths, consciously trying to slow himself down. He remembered what old man Jay Garrick had told him a long time ago.

"_If you go fast, you have to be careful. The faster you go, the harder it is to slow down again. If you go too fast... you might not be able to slow down."_

Wally was always scared of not being able to slow down: it was part and parcel of the superspeed package, a risk he took every time he used his powers. But he wasn't going to let that happen. Wally took another deep breath, and the world around him sped up, finally catching up to him, and the red sparks surrounding him faded away, having gone unnoticed for the entire supersonic run.

* * *

Greed fired a yellow blast at Jinx, but the Mistress of Misfortune deflected it with a hex. Jinx fired a second hex at Greed, and the hex hit the ground, creating a shockwave that headed towards Greed. Greed crossed his arms in front of him and created a yellow dome around himself, shielding him from the shockwave. Greed lowered the shield and looked up as Jinx jumped into the air, kicking him in the face. Greed was knocked back, but managed to roll onto his feet. Greed fired another blast of yellow energy at her, but Jinx cart-wheeled to the side. She leapt into the air and spun her arms, firing a hex at Greed. Greed shot into the air, levitating himself, and the hex blew a hole in the wall behind him.

"So, Jinx," said Greed as he lowered himself to the floor. "Why'd you give it up?"

Jinx fired a hex at Greed, but Greed dodged. "Because I wanted to be respected, not feared!" she yelled.

"But it hasn't been easy, has it?" said Greed. "You were a thief for a long time. You still occasionally have to resist the urge to lift stuff: just little stuff, no one will notice."

"What can I say? Old habits die hard," growled Jinx, firing more hexes at Greed. Greed managed to dodge or deflect all her attacks.

"It's not a habit; it's an addiction," said Greed. "You're addicted to the adrenalin rush of taking something, the thrill of the chase. You miss that rush, that giddy feeling... and you want to do it again, don't you?"

Jinx yelled, and fired a powerful hex at Greed. Greed shielded himself, but the hex broke his shield, and the explosion sent him flying, crashing into a wall and throwing up a cloud of dust.

"I don't miss that rush," said Jinx, walking towards Greed. "And I haven't stolen anything in years!"

Greed leapt up, shooting out of the dust cloud and grabbing Jinx's shoulders, pushing her back. Jinx fell, landing on her back, and Greed pinned her down.

"But you're still tempted, aren't you?" he whispered. "Once you start thieving, your greed will never let you stop thinking about it. You'll always feel that little temptation, and you'll always ask yourself, 'would anyone miss this if it were gone'?"

Jinx's face hardened, and her eyes flashed pink. There was an explosion above them, and Greed raised a hand, firing yellow blasts at the falling debris. Jinx shoved Greed off of her while he was distracted, and flipped back up to her feet. Greed fired a blast of yellow energy at her, low to the ground, and Jinx somersaulted over the blast. She landed and fired a hex at Greed, smacking him in the face. As Greed got back to his feet, Jinx started walking towards him. She snapped her fingers, and there was a bright pink glow around her hand for a brief second. The ground underneath Greed gave way, and he dropped down, pinned in place by the rubble. Jinx fired a hex at him, and snapped her fingers again. The rocks pinning him down shattered, and the hex she fired at him hit him in the chest. Greed was knocked out of the hole and rolled to a stop. Jinx ran towards him, swinging her arm to punch him, and Greed dodged the punch, grabbing her arm. Jinx smiled evilly, and rested her hand on his arm. Her eyes glowed pink, and there was a loud crack as Jinx's hex broke both bones in Greed's forearm. Greed screamed, and released his hold on Jinx's arm, and Jinx dropped down and swung her leg, tripping him. Greed looked up at her, clutching his broken arm to his chest.

"I don't care what you say," said Jinx. "I will never give into that temptation again." She pointed a hand at him, and fired a hex at his face, knocking him out.

* * *

Cyborg fired his sonic cannon at Sloth. Sloth lazily raised his hand, surrounding it with light-blue energy, and blocked the attack. Cyborg closed the gap between them, punching wildly at Sloth. Sloth barely seemed to move, but somehow he managed to squirm away from Cyborg's attacks, not taking a single hit. Sloth fired a blast of light-blue energy at him, striking Cyborg's chest and leaving a dent.

"Why do you even bother?" asked Sloth in a slow monotone. "In the end, nothing really matters. It all fades away in time."

Cyborg fired his sonic cannon again, and Sloth shielded himself again.

"If I don't do anything, then people are gonna die!" yelled Cyborg.

"They'll die anyway," said Sloth. "We're born, we live, and we die; what's the point of it all? It all ends someday."

Cyborg continued to attack, but Sloth always seemed to get out of range of the attacks without moving very fast at all.

"There's no point," continued Sloth, raising a hand. "You might as well give up."

A light blue beam of light shot out from Sloth's hand, crossing the gap between them. The light travelled up Cyborg's arm to his head, and Cyborg fell to his hands and knees. He felt so tired, and he could barely move a muscle...

"That's it," whispered Sloth, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "Just relax, and have a long nap. I've heard that dying is just like falling asleep, except you never wake up."

"That's the... thing, y'see," groaned Cyborg. "I... don't... sleep."

The mechanical part of Cyborg's arm easily transformed into a sonic cannon, and he pointed it at Sloth and fired, taking him by surprise.

"I... recharge," said Cyborg. It was a struggle, but he got back to his feet. He almost fell over again, but his mechanical legs, unaffected by Sloth's powers, allowed him to stay standing.

Sloth slowly raised a hand to blast Cyborg, but Cyborg fired a missile from the launcher built into his shoulder. The missile struck Sloth, sending him flying and knocking him out. With Sloth out cold, Cyborg felt a little more alert, and despite how it had seemed at first, Sloth did have an effect on Cyborg's mechanical side: his power cells had been drained a lot faster than normal; he was only on about half charge.

* * *

Bumblebee shrank down as she approached Lust, before quickly growing back to normal size and kicking Lust. Lust was knocked back, but he recovered quickly, firing a dark blue blast of energy. Bumblebee powered up her stingers and slashed at the blue blasts. Lust created more blue energy constructs, and used them to try and grab Bumblebee. Bumblebee fired her stingers, blasting the blue energy hands, causing the constructs to dissipate. But for every grasping blue hand she destroyed, another one would quickly take its place. Bumblebee shrunk again, flying off to try and avoid the questing hands. She blasted the hands with her stingers, but at her small size, the electric blasts had no effect. She returned to her normal size and attacked the blue hands with her stingers. One of the hands grabbed her arm, and she tried to shake it off. As she attempted to pry it off with the stinger in her other hand, more of the blue energy hands grabbed her, pinning her arms by her side and trapping her wings. The hands became a prison, surrounding Bumblebee and immobilising her arms and wings, causing her to fall back to the ground. She ended up on her back, struggling to free herself as Lust walked up. She tried to talk, but the blue energy moved up to cover her mouth as well.

"Y'know," said Lust, grinning maliciously. "I've never slept with a chick with wings before. Wonder if they'll get in the way."

Bumblebee tried to scream, but her mouth was still blocked by the blue energy. Lust stood over her, leaning in closer.

"C'mon, baby," he whispered. "Give us a kiss."

Lust closed his eyes as he leaned in, and the blue energy dissipated around her mouth. Bumblebee spat in Lust's mouth, and Lust straightened back up quickly, gagging. Bumblebee's legs hadn't been immobilised, so she took the opportunity to kick Lust in the groin several times. Lust gave a high pitched squeak and staggered backwards, clutching the offended area. He lost his concentration, and the blue energy that had trapped Bumblebee vanished, and Bumblebee stabbed at Lust with her stinger. The weapon sent a pulse of electricity through Lust, paralysing him. He collapsed, the residual electricity causing his muscles to spasm.

* * *

Changeling yelped as another purple blast struck him in the chest. He staggered backwards, but Pride attacked him again before he could recover. Pride blasted him again, and Changeling tripped on a piece of rubble and fell onto his back.

"Fight back!" ordered Pride, as she blasted him again. Changeling rolled out of the way and got back to his feet, slowly stepping away from Pride.

"Why don't you fight back?!" asked Pride angrily, blasting him again. The blast caused Changeling to stagger back a few more steps.

"I won't hurt you," said Changeling weakly. "I've never done anything to hurt you before; why would I start now?"

Pride's face softened as Raven tried to fight off Trigon's influence, but her expression quickly hardened again, and she fired another purple blast of energy at him. The attack hurled Changeling through the air, and he landed near the ruins of the pedestal.

"Raven, stop!" Changeling implored, getting back to his feet as Pride moved in to attack again. "This isn't you! You can control it!"

Pride stopped, and Changeling walked up to her and gently placed a hand on her cheek.

"Please, Rachel," he whispered. "Don't do this."

Pride rested her hand on top of his, and closed her eyes. She gently pried his hand away from her cheek, then raised her other hand and blasted him again.

Changeling screamed as he was blown across the room, slamming into the wall hard. He dropped down to the ground, and struggled to raise his head. A small metallic clink caught his attention, and Pride also looked to the source of the noise. The source of the noise was a coin: a penny, to be precise. Changeling stared at the penny in shock. He remembered the day, five years ago, when Raven was destined to destroy the world; he gave her a penny for good luck. She'd kept the penny with her for the whole time, only dropping it when she had become the portal. That couldn't be the same penny... could it?

The sight of the penny had stopped Pride dead. She stared at it, her eyes wide with shock. The purple glow slowly faded, and the upper pair of eyes closed as Raven managed to fight off her father's influence. Raven gasped, staggering a few steps and clutching her head. She glanced at the penny, then at Changeling, running over to his side.

"Oh, Azar," she whispered as she knelt next to him. "What have I done?"

"Hey," said Changeling weakly. "It's okay." He coughed, and a trickle of blood flowed out of his mouth.

Raven gasped. "You're hurt!"

"No, no, it's fine," Changeling said quickly. "I just bit my tongue, that's all."

"You sure?" Raven asked, resting a hand on his chest. She reached out with her mind, trying to get a sense of his injuries. She couldn't sense any major injuries to his chest, but she didn't want to take chances. "Any pains in your chest?" she asked.

Changeling shook his head. "No, not really." He tried to stand up, but winced. "I've got some nice bruises on my back, though."

Raven took Changeling's arm and looped it around her shoulders, helping to support him. "Sorry," she said.

"Don't worry about it, Rae," Changeling said. "You weren't yourself; you were being controlled by Trigon, remember?"

"I'm still responsible for it," said Raven.

"If it makes you feel better, you could call it payback for all the times I've annoyed you over the years," said Changeling.

"You were never annoying enough to deserve _that_ kind of beating," said Raven.

"Yes, I was," said Changeling seriously. "You don't have to deny it."

"You really weren't as annoying as you thought you were," said Raven. "In fact, it was, sometimes, kind of... cute." Raven started to blush slightly as she said that.

Changeling was stunned into silence. Raven was getting really good at doing that...

* * *

Nightwing was cradling his wife's head in his lap. She groaned, and opened her eyes, squinting in the sunlight pouring in from the hole she had made in the roof.

"Hey, sweetie," he said softly. "You feeling okay?"

Starfire blinked and sat up. "If I won," she moaned, "why do I feel so terrible?"

Nightwing smiled, and helped her stand up.

"So how do you feel?" she asked him.

"Let me put it this way," said Nightwing. "Between the two of us, there are probably enough uninjured body parts to make one whole person."

"That good, huh?" said Starfire. In the last few months, Starfire had started getting a lot more comfortable with the English language and human culture, even cracking a few jokes every now and then.

"Come on," said Nightwing. "Let's go home."

"We can't. Not yet."

Nightwing turned around. "Raven. Back with us, I see."

Raven, still supporting Changeling, aimed a well practiced death glare at Nightwing.

"Sorry," said Nightwing. "Bad taste. So why can't we leave yet?"

Raven pointed. The other Titans looked in the direction she was pointing.

"With my brothers out of the way, the portal has reopened," said Raven.

"Shouldn't you have been consumed by the portal?" asked Cyborg.

"They only needed me to drain Trigon's powers. I wasn't needed to open the portal," said Raven.

"Can you close it?" asked Nightwing.

Raven shook her head. "We'll have to wait until the portal closes on its own."

"We can't wait," said Changeling. "If we do, then Trigon could come through."

"Then we don't have a choice," said the Flash. "We have to go in there and fight Trigon, keep him away from the portal until it closes."

"That's suicide," said Nightwing. "We're still exhausted from fighting the Sins. We're in no condition to fight anyone, let alone an inter-dimensional demon."

"We're Titans, Richard," said Starfire. "We save the world. It's in the job description."

"Star's right," said Bumblebee. "We can't just lie down and let Trigon through. As long as we can still stand, we can fight."

"It doesn't matter if we survive," said Jinx. "The only thing that matters is delaying Trigon."

Nightwing looked over his teammates, catching each of their eyes. They all nodded, one by one, confirming their readiness for the fight. Nightwing glanced at his wife, and Starfire nodded, smiling.

"All right, then," said Nightwing. "I was just making sure you all knew what we were getting into."

"You mean you were planning on going in there anyway?" asked Raven.

"Yep," said Nightwing. "I just wasn't willing to risk your lives."

"Don't worry," said Changeling, standing up straight without Raven's help. "We're ready. And we know the score."

Nightwing smirked. "Let's do it."

The Titans West lined up, facing the portal.

Nightwing took a deep breath. "Titans, GO!"

* * *

Hah! Didn't see that one coming, didya?

...

Okay, maybe you did. Whatever.

Nightwing was always going to fight Wrath. As the show proved, he had a few anger issues, especially when Slade was involved (*cough*_Haunted_*cough*). He still has problems with his anger, but nowadays, he won't unleash that anger on his friends. He'll save it for the bad guys.

Wally versus Envy was an idea that kind of came out of nowhere, but it was one that made sense, especially after Envy took on the form of Barry Allen. Wally is jealous of his uncle. He'll always think Barry will be the better Flash, and he envies Barry because of that. And the other reason is because Barry has broken the sound barrier and Wally hasn't. But Wally has broken the sound barrier now, so it's all good. I also mentioned Jay Garrick, the original Golden Age Flash. In my personal canon, Jay and the other members of the Justice Society of America were active back in the late Forties to early Sixties before they retired. I also tried to work in a few hints about a little something called the Speed Force. Anyone spot it?

As for the other Titan vs Sin fights, the only one I was really sure about was Changeling versus Pride/Raven. There are also a few meaningful echoes in that fight to events earlier in this very story. Let me know if you spot them.

So, next chapter: This is it, the final fight! The Titans versus Trigon! Stay tuned! I'll eventually stop ending my sentences with exclamation marks! But not yet!

ShortyBoss.


	6. Chapter 6: Delaying Action

All righty, folks, this is it! The big battle: The Titans West versus Trigon the Terrible. This one was fun to write, but the battle didn't run for very long. But the bits that did let themselves be written were awesome, I can assure you! I'm not going to say what, though, because that would spoil the awesomeness. I'll let you read it for yourself.

Disclaimer: If you want to read it that badly, go to Chapter One.

* * *

**Chapter Six: Delaying Action**

It was a world of fire and ash. Bubbles popped in the lava, spraying molten rock in all directions. The sky was filled with smoke, obscuring the horizon. A figure sat in a throne carved out of the black rocks that had formed on the volcanic shores. He had closed his four yellow eyes, watching events unfold through the eyes of seven others. However, six of those seven were defeated by their opponents, and he could no longer see out of his sons' eyes as they fell unconscious. He could still see out of his daughter's eyes, but even under his influence, she could still not inflict any major injuries on her opponent, and his words, along with the sight of a penny, of all things, managed to allow her to reassert herself and break his control. She had proven to be very resilient, having survived being his portal, not once, but twice, and being able to break his control and rid herself of the excess power he had given her.

Trigon the Terrible did not open his eyes as the air in front of him started to swirl and form into a red portal, nor did he open his eyes as eight figures leapt through the portal into his realm.

"So," rumbled Trigon. "You have decided to fight. A brave, yet foolish, choice, considering you are exhausted from your battles with my children. You have no chance of victory."

"We don't need to win!" yelled Nightwing. "All we have to do is stop you from going through the portal."

Trigon opened his eyes. "You are nothing but mere mortals. What hope do you have against a god?"

"You are no god!" yelled Starfire. "You are a monster!"

"To you, I may be a monster, but here, in this realm, I am a god," said Trigon. "Fighting you is beneath me."

The Mark of Scath appeared beneath the Titans, and red sparks engulfed the eight heroes. The Titans screamed in pain, and there was an explosion of red energy. The Titans were sent flying, and once they recovered, they looked up.

"Oh, no," said Cyborg. "Not again."

Eight people stood where the Mark of Scath had formed; black-and-white copies of the Titans with glowing red eyes.

Raven stood up and raised her arms. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she chanted. She aimed her hands at the evil Titans, and fired a black blast of energy at them. The blast sent the eight evil copies flying, and the clones ended up being thrown into a lava pool. The eight clones were burnt to death by the intense heat.

"Impressive," said Trigon. "But you are still no threat to me, daughter."

"I have no father," growled Raven. "You're just an evil creature that raped my mother."

"Such anger," mused Trigon. "There is hope for you yet."

Raven yelled, and fired another blast at Trigon. Trigon created a red shield, blocking the attack.

Around the Titans, ghost-like flame creatures rose from the ground; the spirits Trigon used to enforce his will. The Flash, Jinx and Bumblebee hurled themselves at the creatures, attacking them.

"You guys go!" yelled the Flash. "Get to Trigon!"

The giant demon had stood up, and was walking in their direction.

"You sure?" asked Nightwing.

The Flash nodded. "You guys beat him last time. It's only fair that you are the ones who fight him again."

"Right," said Nightwing. "Good luck."

"You too," said the Flash, before racing off to attack the spirits. Nightwing quickly glanced at the other four members of the Titans. Starfire, Cyborg, Changeling and Raven nodded. As one, the Titans began their attack.

Changeling morphed into a horse, and Nightwing leapt up, pushing off of Changeling's back. Starfire caught him, and hurled him at Trigon. Nightwing grabbed a pair of ice discs out of his belt pocket, and threw them at Trigon's face. The discs struck Trigon, and the ice that formed blinded him. Changeling morphed into an armadillo and curled up, and Cyborg picked him up and threw him at Trigon. Mid-flight, Changeling morphed into a stegosaurus, and he slammed into Trigon, the plates on his back gouging chunks out of Trigon's chest. Raven used her powers to pick up Cyborg and throw him, and Cyborg transformed both his hands into sonic cannons, and fired them at Trigon, shattering the ice that covered his face. Raven and Starfire grabbed each other's hands, and started spinning, firing their powers to create a black and green vortex, which struck Trigon. Nightwing fired his grappling hook at Trigon's throne, swinging around, and Cyborg used his hand for the same purpose, swinging in the opposite direction to Nightwing. As the two swung in front of the throne, Nightwing tossed an explosive disc into the air, and Cyborg shot at it with his sonic cannon, propelling the disc into Trigon. Nightwing let go of the grapple, and Starfire caught him, and Cyborg let go of the throne and grabbed Changeling's leg as Changeling morphed into a pterodactyl.

The Titans hadn't said a single word in the entire battle, relying on experience and trust to see them through. Their gamble had paid off, and now they wanted to see the results.

They gathered in front of Trigon's throne, waiting for the smoke to clear. Once they could see him clearly, they could tell that Trigon had been wounded in their attack. Shards of ice were still stuck to his face, and there were bruises all over his face and chest. There were several gashes along Trigon's chest, oozing black blood. The obsidian throne had been demolished, destroyed by the combined assault of the Titans.

Trigon roared, and fired a massive red blast at the Titans. Raven created a shield around them, but the blast was too powerful for her to completely deflect. The shield broke, and the ensuing explosion sent the Titans flying.

"You are strong," said Trigon. "But your valiant efforts are for naught."

Spirits rose out of the ground, restraining the five Titans. The Flash, Jinx and Bumblebee had also been captured, overwhelmed by sheer numbers and exhaustion. Trigon began to walk towards the portal.

"Soon, you will die, and your world shall fall under my rule," he said. "Farewell, Titans."

"No!" yelled Raven. She surrounded herself in black energy, which expanded outwards in a rapid sphere, disintegrating the spirits holding her. The black energy then shrunk inwards, disappearing. A black raven appeared in front of Trigon, before it morphed into Raven herself.

"I won't let you past," she said, staring up at Trigon.

"You can't hope to defeat me, little girl," said Trigon.

"I've beaten you before, I can do it again!" said Raven.

"That may be true," said Trigon. "But I wasn't at my full strength then."

"You still aren't," said Raven. "You're still recovering from the last time I beat you, and you used some of your strength to empower my brothers and I."

"You may be right, but as long as you keep your emotions repressed, you cannot hope to even have a chance against me!" said Trigon, his voice rising as he continued.

Raven smirked. "Then I guess it's time to release those bottled up emotions."

Raven closed her eyes. For so many years, she had exercised iron control over her emotions, allowing her to use her powers without losing control and destroying everything around her. Now, it was time to let those emotions loose; happiness, fear, love, anger, compassion, jealousy; all those emotions and more rose up within Raven, empowering her, giving her strength.

Trigon's face fell as he realised he'd just given Raven the key to unlocking her full strength. He roared, and slashed at Raven. His hand bounced of a white shield, and the white energy burnt his skin. Trigon staggered back, and the other Titans watched in amazement as the white light faded.

Raven stood before Trigon, her hands surrounded by balls of white light. Her uniform, which normally consisted of her normal black leotard and dark blue cape, was now pure white. She fired a beam of white light at Trigon, and the demon responded by firing his own dark red beam. Behind Raven, the portal began to slowly close.

"The portal!" yelled Nightwing. "We have to get out of here!"

The Flash started moving his arms at high speeds, and the vibration caused the spirits holding him to fly apart. Starfire yanked her arms free, and blasted the spirits holding her and the other Titans. They ran towards the portal. The Flash was running at normal speeds, having used up so much energy earlier. Bumblebee and Starfire were also running for the same reasons. Nightwing was the first to reach the portal, leaping through, and was followed closely by the Flash and Starfire. Bumblebee was next through, then Jinx, then Cyborg. Changeling halted before the portal, looking back at where Raven was fighting her father. Trigon was still maintaining his red beam, but had been forced back, and Raven was slowly overpowering him.

"Rachel, come on!" Changeling yelled.

Raven looked back at him, and Trigon took his chance. He yelled, taking advantage of Raven's distraction, overpowering her and striking her with his attack.

"Rachel!" yelled Changeling. Changeling started running towards her as Raven got back to her feet.

Raven started to float in the air, the gem set in her forehead glowing white.

"_Azarath... Metrion... ZINTHOS!_" yelled Raven. A huge white raven formed around her, and the bird attacked Trigon. Trigon screamed in pain as the white energy burnt into his skin, pushing him back. A few seconds later, there was a huge explosion of red light, and when it faded, Trigon was gone. Raven floated back down to the ground, and would have collapsed if Changeling hadn't caught her.

"Thanks, Garfield," she moaned as he held her up.

"Hey, what are friends for?" he asked, as he guided her to the portal. The portal was closing faster now, having just shrunk to about ten metres in diameter.

"I don't think we're going to make it," said Raven weakly.

"Oh, yes we are," said Changeling. He scooped up Raven, carrying her bridal-style, and bolted towards the portal. He jumped, holding Raven close to his chest—

—And landed on his feet in the hidden room of the old library. He stood up and turned to face the portal, and Raven and Changeling watched as it finally closed.

Changeling sighed in relief, and then looked at Raven.

"Um, can you let go, please?" he asked. "Or at least, loosen your grip a little?"

Raven had wrapped her arms around his neck instinctively when he had picked her up, and she only now realised how tightly she had wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Oh! Sorry," she said, a blush starting to colour her cheeks. She removed her arms, and Changeling set her down gently. Raven stood up and looked at her outfit.

"You look good in white," said Changeling.

Raven grimaced. "I don't think it's my colour." She sighed, and looked at the other Titans. "Can we go home now?"

Nightwing smiled. "Yeah. Let's go home."

"Good," said Raven, yawning. She staggered a few steps.

"You all right?" asked Nightwing.

Raven nodded slowly. "Just feeling a little... tired..." said Raven, collapsing. Nightwing caught her before she could hit the ground. Changeling's heart stopped as Raven collapsed... and started again once she started snoring softly. The Titans breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"I think she's got the right idea," said Nightwing. "Let's go home and get some rest."

* * *

Like I said, it was pretty short. But it was awesome, right? Right?

Okay, look, you don't have to say it was awesome, no need to give me a huge ego.

Oh, and things aren't quite over yet. We've still got an epilogue to go, folks!

-ShortyBoss.


	7. Epilogue: Admittance

So, here we are at the end of The Seven Deadly Sins! To celebrate, I present to you, the epilogue! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Already been disclaimed.

* * *

**Epilogue: Admittance**

Rachel Roth groaned and sat up, looking around quickly. She recognised her surroundings; she was in the Titans Tower Medical Wing. She glanced out the window, and saw that it was dark outside. And standing at the window—

"Oh, you're awake," said Garfield Logan, still in his superhero uniform, looking over her shoulder at her. He walked over to her and sat down on her bed next to him.

"So, how you feeling?" he asked.

Rachel yawned, stretching her arms. "Better," she said. "So why am I here, anyway?"

"You collapsed after we came back through the portal, remember?" said Garfield.

"Oh, yeah," said Rachel. "I didn't think I had been hurt that bad."

"You weren't," he said. "You collapsed out of sheer exhaustion. Nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry," said Rachel.

"Don't be," said Garfield. "We were all struggling to stay awake back there."

Rachel nodded. "How long have I been out for?"

Garfield shrugged. "'Bout six hours, maybe?"

"Oh," said Rachel.

"Yeah," said Garfield. "I've been here the whole time, watching over you." Garfield looked away, trying to hide his blush.

"That was... sweet of you," said Rachel, feeling her cheeks heat up. The two of them sat in companionable silence for a while. Rachel didn't realise it, but her hand was slowly inching towards Garfield's, and she only noticed it when she felt his hand brush against hers. She looked down at their hands, and the contrast between his lively bright green skin and her own pale skin.

"So, what happened back there with Trigon?" asked Garfield. "Is he... dead?"

Rachel shook her head. "He can't be killed; it's impossible. But I've weakened him. I don't think he'll be able to recover for a long time."

"How long?" asked Garfield.

"It will probably be several decades, maybe even several centuries, before he can recover from that," said Rachel.

"Okay," said Garfield. "Nothing to worry about, then."

Rachel smiled slightly, and the two lapsed back into silence.

"Um... Rachel," said Garfield awkwardly. "There's something I want to say... well, I've wanted to say for a while, well, since you got back from Azarath a few months ago, at least, but, I've never really, um, f-felt confident enough to, um, say it to you... oh my god, this is embarrassing..."

"Garfield, it's okay," she said. "I-I think... I think I want to say the same thing."

Garfield turned to look at her, gazing into her beautiful purple eyes. "A-are you, um... Are you sure, Rachel?"

She nodded. "Pretty sure." She then wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in and planting her lips on his. Garfield went stiff in shock, before he relaxed into the kiss, tilting her head slightly and resting his hand on the base of her neck. They pulled apart, and she rested her forehead on his.

"I love you," they whispered in unison.

"Oh, before I forget," said Garfield, reaching into his belt.

"I think this belongs to you," he said, handing her the penny he had first given to her five years ago, the same penny that had so recently helped her shake off her father's influence. "I thought you might want it back."

"Thank you," she said, taking the penny from him.

A grin started to form on Garfield's lips. "Now, where were we?"

Raven laughed softly, and pulled her boyfriend in for a second kiss.

_**The End**_

* * *

A prediction. The reviews are going to be filled with lots of awwww's and/or fanboy/fangirl squeals. *Braces for impact* ;D

Now, rest assured, readers. There are more stories brewing in this head of mine. In fact, I have a few plot bunnies that have been trying to escape for a while. I'm sure you'll see those stories coming soon. Right now, though, I'm getting ready to go back to school. I've got my final exams coming up, and I need to study. :(

Bye for now, and I hope to see you again in the near future.

ShortyBoss.


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